Hash Function

A hash function is any algorithm or subroutine that maps large data sets of variable length, called keys, to smaller data sets of a fixed length. For example, a person's name, having a variable length, could be hashed to a single integer. The values returned by a hash function are called hash values, hash codes, hash sums, checksums or simply hashes.

Read more about Hash Function:  Descriptions, Hash Function Algorithms, Origins of The Term, List of Hash Functions

Famous quotes containing the word function:

    “Think of the tools in a tool-box: there is a hammer, pliers, a saw, a screwdriver, a rule, a glue-pot, nails and screws.—The function of words are as diverse as the functions of these objects.”
    —Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)