What is the signature of the file?

File signature in computer programming is a unique identification number located at the beginning of the file. This number identifies the file type and provides information about the data contained in the actual file. This information can be used to determine what type of file is read when the file extension or user error incorrectly identified the file as an incorrect type. The file signature may also contain information that provides the original data that has been stored in the file, still intact and not modified. The combination of these elements allows you to sign the file to serve as an important form of verification, especially against computer viruses. Part of the header information is the succession of the bytes that defines the type of file that was originally created. It can be an image file, a document from a particular program, or even a protocol type when it is used as a communication method between the client and the server. The file header does not use a defined standard; Instead, it is proprietary for each other format, which knowsMen that the program or operating system needs a file signature database to determine the type of unknown file.

The actual signature of the file is sometimes referred to as a magic number. In programming it is unique in the data field that occupies. Looking at the file header to determine the type of file, this means that no two file signatures should be the same, which would allow each type of format to have a different identification string of bytes. This can be particularly used in solving the transmission and interpretation of online files, where the file expansion could be arbitrary and could not rely on it as an identification for the file type.

In addition to the file type, the file signature can also contain information that allows you to check errors on the file, so the data that holds can be confirmed as intact. This is often done using a function known as a control sum. ControllerRecounts is a feature that uses the integer file values ​​of file data to create mathematical values ​​that can be replicated after transfer or loading the file. In the most basic form, this process involves adding the values ​​of the bytes to the file and then recording the sum, allowing the decoding program to decode the file to perform the same function. If the results differ during decoding, then the file could be damaged and the data could either be invalid or be modified for malicious purposes.