CHECKSUM() Calculates the checksum for a character string (algorithm) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Syntax CHECKSUM(<cString>) --> nCheckSum Argument <cString> Designates the character string for which the checksum is computed. Returns The number returned is the checksum for the <cString>. Description CHECKSUM() calculates the checksum for a character string. This checksum can determine if a character string has been changed, or transmitted or typed incorrectly. CHECKSUM() is position dependent, so the likelihood of error recognition is greater than with ASCIISUM(). Notes . The return value is a 32-bit whole number. . The checksum cannot be used for definitive coding of data because the calculated sum for two different character strings could be the same. For example, the checksum for "PASTETEN" and "PERSONAL" are identical. . If character strings have different lengths, the strings cannot have identical values. Examples . In this example, ASCIISUM() would have returned identical results: ? CHECKSUM("abc") // Result: 247334 ? CHECKSUM("cba") // Result: 246822 . Different character strings of identical length can produce identical results: ? CHECKSUM("PASTETEN") // Result: 530020 ? CHECKSUM("PERSONAL") // Result: 530020 . A null string returns a result of 0: ? CHECKSUM("") // Result: 0
See Also: ASCIISUM()