Checksum
A short value calculated from the contents of a file or record. If the contents change at all, the checksum almost certainly changes too.
Comparing checksums before and after a transfer shows whether a file arrived intact. A simple checksum guards against accidents, not against someone altering the data on purpose.
See also
- Data integrityThe assurance that data stays correct and intact as it is stored, moved, and changed, with nothing lost, altered, or left pointing at records that no longer exist.
- Audit trailA record of what was changed in a dataset, when, and why, kept so that someone else can check the work later.
- ReconciliationComparing two sets of data that should agree, such as a source system and its export, and accounting for every difference between them.