What's Hashing?

🤑 Before ya dive right into Bitcoin mining, we gotta take a lil' pit stop and peep some key concepts that are the backbone of this whole crypto biz. ⛓️

If y'all wanna truly get how Bitcoin and its crypto fam work, you gotta vibe with what's called “hashing".

When ya hear “hash,” some peeps might think of hash browns, those crunchy snacks for brekkie in the US. 🥔 Others, like our bro Snoop Dogg, might think of a certain green leaf product. 🌿 

But yo, in this guide, we're talking 'bout a whole different kind of hash! 🤯

It's kinda technical, but don't stress! I'll keep it 100 and make sure it’s super chill for ya. 😎

Being clued up about hashing is also necessary to peep the deets on how Bitcoin mining works (that's up next, fam), so like, don't be skipping over this stuff. 💪👁️

What is hashing, fam? 🤔

Hashing is this chill cryptography method that flips any data into a unique, fixed-length string. 🎶💻

Cryptography is the art and science of sendin’ secret messages so no outside peeps can eavesdrop. In today's digital jungle, it's used to keep all our data from being snatched. 💻🔒

TBH, the “crypto” in cryptocurrencies is all about cryptography.
Hashing is a must-know part of this cryptography game and plays a vital role in the whole “crypto” in cryptocurrencies vibe. 🔐🚀

In chill terms, hashing means putting text of ANY length through a hash function to get an output of a FIXED length. 😎

Anything can be hashed, no matter its size or type. 🌀 And that hash? It’s always the same length, fam. 🔢

Peep the examples below. With the SHA-1 hash function, every “input” cranks out an “output” that's always 40 characters long. 📏✌️

Check the vibes: whether it's the word “Hello,” our good ol’ “BabyPips.com,” or just the letter “I,” the hash checks out at 40 characters every time. 🔥

The deal here? Even when the “inputs” switch up, the hash rules say: 40 chars every time. 🤷‍♂️

In this sitch, 40's the magic number 'cause that's how the SHA-1 hash function rolls, but just know some other hash functions have even longer outputs. 💯

A hash is like a sick digital fingerprint. ✋

Each unique piece of info always produces the same hash. So, if you keep running “Hello” through a hash function a bajillion times, it’ll always look the same. 🔄🖐️

For real, for the word “Hello,” this SHA-1 hash ain't changing:

f7ff9e8b7bb2e09b70935a5d785e0cc5d9d0abf0

And only the OG “Hello” makes that hash.

Switch “Hello” to “hello,” and BOOM, whole new hash. 💥 Something like digital “fingerprints.”

Your fingerprint’s all you and unique, just like a hash is unique to each special input. 👆🤙

No turning back, a hash can’t be reversed. 🚫

The input, or “preimage,” into a hash function is some fancy-talk for “input.” Here, we keep it simple. 🙌

And the OUTPUT from the hash function? Called “hash value” or “digest,” but we just call it a “hash.” 🚀

A hash function? It's a total one-way street, folks. 🛑

Since it's one-way, you can’t flip the script and use the hash to figure out what the original “preimage” was. 🤷‍♂️

Hash functions make these irreversible hashes.

Irreversible means you can’t take a peek at the hash and guess the OG data. This way, that original stuff stays locked down and on the low. 🔑

So, what even IS a hash function? 🤔

A hash function is like a math nerd's operation that takes an arbitrary length of input and flips it into a fixed-length string thanks to a certain algorithm. 🧠🔄

An algorithm is just some neat instructions for making calculations, something a software whiz does with ease. 🖥️💾

arbitrary part. 😜

Each input spits out a one-of-a-kind alphanumeric string of fixed length. ✍️

And alphanumeric? Just means chill mix of letters and digits. 👾

Hash functions gotta stay secretive, giving zero clues on what the input looked like. 🕵️‍♂️

Example: you can’t tell if the input's a mile-long book or a tiny word. One character change can mean a total new look in output. 🎨😎

The dopest Hash Functions 🔥

All hash functions flex in the same way. You throw some data in, it gets all scrambled up, and out comes a hash. 🌀

Some big players include:

• MD-5: Message Digest 5 (MD5) used to be gangsta, but now hackers bust it open in seconds. ⌚️⚡
• SHA: Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) is another type of hash function. It's got a whole crew: SHA-0, SHA-1, SHA-2, and SHA-3. The higher the rank, the newer and safer the algorithm. 📈🔒

For now, just vibe with the idea that Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) is key. We’re talking 'bout the SHA-2 fam, specifically the beast known as SHA-256. 🚀

SHA-256 gets the job done by turning text into a fixed 64-character string. This means mega-security and leads us to 256 bits — hence, “256.” 🔐💪

SHA-256 is squad supreme since it's the hash function used in the Bitcoin universe 🌌. More on that later, but for now, remember SHA-256 is the star of the Bitcoin show.

Whether you're hashing a page from Harry Potter or the whole dang series, the SHA-256 keeps the output the same. That's lit with 64 alphanumeric chars. 📚➡️🔑

Alright, team crypto, let's learn how hashing is bringing the heat to the crypto world. 💥