I am using the djb2 algorithm to generate the hash key for a string which is as follows hash(unsigned char *str) { unsigned long hash = 5381; int c; while (c = *str++) hash = ((hash << 5) + hash) + c; /* hash * 33 + c */ return hash; } Now with every loop there is a multiplication with two big numbers, After some time with the 4th of 5th character of the string there is a overflow as the hash value becomes huge What is the correct way to refactor so that the hash value does not overflow and the hashing also happens correctly