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So, I visited this presentation by Rick Deutsch who has hiked up Half Dome a mind-blowing 27 times. He had a lotta interesting things to say about the day hike to the top of the Half Dome.
This is the information I gathered.

He categorized the hike into the following:

1). Water: How much water should you carry? Really, it depends on the individual, but here are a few tips. Rick usually consumes about 7L. No Kidding!! Water weighs roughly 1kg/L. So its a lot easier if you carry less. The other option is to fill it up as go. There are a lotta springs where you can do that, but, there are two kinds of parasites in the water in the springs. So you cant directly drink from it. He uses a purifier pump from CATADIN or something. And carries 2 1L bottles. One for water and the other with electrolytes from Gatorade powder.

2). Boots: Highly recommended since the closer you get to the top, the terrain is mostly granite (rock), which apparently is slippery. He uses bots by Vasque with ankle support.
Another important add-on are the socks. He recommends using a thin layered socks and another well-cushioned one over it like woolen or something.
He also uses a foot insert. If you have following my experience lately. I have been using these since last week after my heel problem called Plantar Fasciitis which affects the heel because of less-cushioned socks and shoes. And believe me, it is helping a lot. I have been wearing it to work everyday.

Rick also uses a lubricant for his feet to prevent blisters. The brand name is Body Glide.

3). Poles: I cannot express more ardently how important these are. It takes off the pressure on your lower body and shifts some of the work out to the upper body. Another advantage of the poles is the support they can lend when the terrain is difficult to hike. Its like having 4 legs.
There are tons of different kinds of poles around. LEKI is a popular brand. They practically invented poles for hiking and skiing. I'm looking for one with shock absorbers.

4).Gloves: Rick uses gloves that he bought from a hardware store. Its called Atlas, I think. He uses open fingered ones for the hike up to the cables with the poles and switches to the other for the hike thereafter.
Other people have recommended using leather gloves too. GLOVES are a must because these cables are made out of steel. If they are hot or cold, it can be a problem holding them to climb.

5). Clothes: Suggestion is to not wear cotton as it is more difficult for water to evaporate from it as opposed to Polyester or Polypropylene.


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