File signature
Encyclopedia
In computing
, a file signature is data used for identify or verify the content of a file. In particular, it may refer to:
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
, a file signature is data used for identify or verify the content of a file. In particular, it may refer to:
- File magic number: bytes within a file used to identify the format of the file; generally a short sequence of bytes (most are 2-4 bytes long) placed at the beginning of the file;
- File checksumChecksumA checksum or hash sum is a fixed-size datum computed from an arbitrary block of digital data for the purpose of detecting accidental errors that may have been introduced during its transmission or storage. The integrity of the data can be checked at any later time by recomputing the checksum and...
or more generally the result of an hash functionHash functionA hash function is any algorithm or subroutine that maps large data sets to smaller data sets, called keys. For example, a single integer can serve as an index to an array...
over the file content: data used to verify that the file content integrity, generally against transmission errors or malicious attacks. The signature can be included at the end of the file or in a separate file.