Redis - HyperLogLog

Redis HyperLogLog is an algorithm that uses randomization in order to provide an approximation of the number of unique elements in a set using just a constant, and small amount of memory.

HyperLogLog provides a very good approximation of the cardinality of a set even using a very small amount of memory around 12 kbytes per key with a standard error of 0.81%. There is no limit to the number of items you can count, unless you approach 2⁶⁴ items.

Example

Following example explains how Redis HyperLogLog works.

redis 127.0.0.1:6379> PFADD tutorials "redis"  
1) (integer) 1  
redis 127.0.0.1:6379> PFADD tutorials "mongodb"  
1) (integer) 1  
redis 127.0.0.1:6379> PFADD tutorials "mysql"  
1) (integer) 1  
redis 127.0.0.1:6379> PFCOUNT tutorials  
(integer) 3 

Redis HyperLogLog Commands

Following table lists some basic commands related to Redis HyperLogLog.