PHP | hash() Function

Hello folks! welcome back to a new edition of our tutorial on PHP. In this tutorial guide, we are going to be studying about the PHP hash() Function.

The built-in PHP hash() function returns a hash value for the given data based on the algorithm like (md5, sha256). The return value is a string with hexits (hexadecimal values).

Syntax

Following below is the syntax to use this function -

hash ( string $algo , string $data [, bool $raw_output = FALSE ] ) : string

READ: PHP | Hash Functions

Parameter Details

Sr.No	Parameter & Description
1	algo Name of the hashing algorithm. There is a big list of algorithm available with hash, some important ones are md5, sha256, etc. To get the full list of algorithms supported use the hashing function hash_algos()
2	data The data you want the hash to be generated. Please note once the hash is generated it cannot be reversed.
3	raw_output By default, the value is false and hence it returns lowercase hexits values. If the value is true, it will return raw binary data.

Return Value

This built-in PHP function returns a string with lowercase hexits. If the raw_output is set to true, it will return raw binary data.

PHP Version

This built-in PHP function works from PHP version greater than 5.1.2.

Example1

Following below is an example to generate a hash value using the md5 Algorithm -

<?php
   echo "The hash of Welcome to Webdesigntutorialz is - ". hash('md5', 'Welcome to Webdesigntutorialz');
?>

Output

When the above code is executed, it will produce the following result -

The hash of Welcome to Webdesigntutorialz is - 98c299a76c4b81497677fc5aa861166d

Example2

Following below is an example to generate a hash value using the sha256 Algorithm -

<?php
   echo "The hash of Welcome to Webdesigntutorialz is - ". hash('sha256', 'Welcome to Webdesigntutorialz');
?>

Output

When the above code is executed, it will produce the following result -

The hash of Welcome to Webdesigntutorialz is - b952e8666ddb57f4b80a70041a9bc151166dd11d4aaf1393c243cf720841be77 

Example3

Following below is an example to generate a hash value using the crc32b Algorithm -

<?php
   echo "The hash of Welcome to Webdesigntutorialz is - ". hash('crc32b', 'Welcome to Webdesigntutorialz');
?>

Output

When the above code is executed, it will produce the following result -

The hash of Welcome to Webdesigntutorialz is - d4a982a4

Example4

Following below is an example to generate a hash value with the raw_output set to true -

<?php
   echo "The hash of Welcome to Webdesigntutorialz is - ". hash('md5', 'Welcome to Webdesigntutorialz', true);
?>

Output

When the above code is executed, it will produce the following result -

The hash of Welcome to Webdesigntutorialz is - ��#�x"�%�������

READ: PHP | unlink() Function

Alright guys! This is where we are rounding up for this tutorial post. In our next tutorial guide, we are going to be discussing about the PHP hash_hmac_file() Function.

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