python: generate 24bit hash

I want to generate a 24-bit-length hash from strings. After some googling, I found this:开发者_高级运维 http://code.activestate.com/recipes/164274-fixed-size-cache/ , but it seems to be too complex.

Are there other, simpler, ways to generate a 24-bit hash?

Thanks!

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Does it need to by cryptographically secure? I think you could probably just truncate one of the hashes from hashlib.

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You could compute a 24-bit CRC check value and use it as a hash value. The Wikipedia article on cyclic redundancy check describes how to do this for n-bit CRCs and even has several generator polynomials for 24-bits in its Polynomial representations of cyclic redundancy checks section.