diff -r ffa851df0825 -r 2fb8b9db1c86 symbian-qemu-0.9.1-12/python-2.6.1/Doc/library/md5.rst --- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/symbian-qemu-0.9.1-12/python-2.6.1/Doc/library/md5.rst Fri Jul 31 15:01:17 2009 +0100 @@ -0,0 +1,96 @@ + +:mod:`md5` --- MD5 message digest algorithm +=========================================== + +.. module:: md5 + :synopsis: RSA's MD5 message digest algorithm. + :deprecated: + + +.. deprecated:: 2.5 + Use the :mod:`hashlib` module instead. + +.. index:: + single: message digest, MD5 + single: checksum; MD5 + +This module implements the interface to RSA's MD5 message digest algorithm (see +also Internet :rfc:`1321`). Its use is quite straightforward: use :func:`new` +to create an md5 object. You can now feed this object with arbitrary strings +using the :meth:`update` method, and at any point you can ask it for the +:dfn:`digest` (a strong kind of 128-bit checksum, a.k.a. "fingerprint") of the +concatenation of the strings fed to it so far using the :meth:`digest` method. + +For example, to obtain the digest of the string ``'Nobody inspects the spammish +repetition'``: + + >>> import md5 + >>> m = md5.new() + >>> m.update("Nobody inspects") + >>> m.update(" the spammish repetition") + >>> m.digest() + '\xbbd\x9c\x83\xdd\x1e\xa5\xc9\xd9\xde\xc9\xa1\x8d\xf0\xff\xe9' + +More condensed: + + >>> md5.new("Nobody inspects the spammish repetition").digest() + '\xbbd\x9c\x83\xdd\x1e\xa5\xc9\xd9\xde\xc9\xa1\x8d\xf0\xff\xe9' + +The following values are provided as constants in the module and as attributes +of the md5 objects returned by :func:`new`: + + +.. data:: digest_size + + The size of the resulting digest in bytes. This is always ``16``. + +The md5 module provides the following functions: + + +.. function:: new([arg]) + + Return a new md5 object. If *arg* is present, the method call ``update(arg)`` + is made. + + +.. function:: md5([arg]) + + For backward compatibility reasons, this is an alternative name for the + :func:`new` function. + +An md5 object has the following methods: + + +.. method:: md5.update(arg) + + Update the md5 object with the string *arg*. Repeated calls are equivalent to a + single call with the concatenation of all the arguments: ``m.update(a); + m.update(b)`` is equivalent to ``m.update(a+b)``. + + +.. method:: md5.digest() + + Return the digest of the strings passed to the :meth:`update` method so far. + This is a 16-byte string which may contain non-ASCII characters, including null + bytes. + + +.. method:: md5.hexdigest() + + Like :meth:`digest` except the digest is returned as a string of length 32, + containing only hexadecimal digits. This may be used to exchange the value + safely in email or other non-binary environments. + + +.. method:: md5.copy() + + Return a copy ("clone") of the md5 object. This can be used to efficiently + compute the digests of strings that share a common initial substring. + + +.. seealso:: + + Module :mod:`sha` + Similar module implementing the Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA). The SHA algorithm + is considered a more secure hash. +