A hash function is any algorithm that maps data of arbitrary length to data of a fixed length. The values returned by a hash function are called hash values, hash codes, hash sums, checksums or simply hashes. From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_function
A hash function is any algorithm that maps data of arbitrary length to data of a fixed length. The values returned by a hash function are called hash values, hash codes, hash sums, checksums or simply hashes. Recent development of internet payment networks also uses a form of 'hashing' for checksums, and has brought additional attention to the term.
From wikipedia: hash function
