PURPOSE: To quickly retrieve a user word in a compiler without repeating the same retrieval procedures at the time of continuous retrieval of the user word retrieved just before by changing the order from the head of chain addresses so that the user word detected as the result of retrieval is placed in the head of a hash chain.

CONSTITUTION: A name table head acquiring means 21 acquires the head of name entries 26 connected to a hash table 25 in a name table 24. A name entry next retrieval means 22 traces chain addresses 261 of name entries 26 to retrieve a name entry having the same hash value. When the name entry 26 having a user word 262 coinciding with a user word 102 in name information 10 is detected by the name table head acquiring means 21 and the name table next retrieval means 22, a name table reorganizing means 23 reorganizes the chain so that the detected name entry is connected to the head of the chain connected to the hash table 25.