40 Algorithms Every Programmer Should Know

Understanding SHA

SHA was developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Let's see how we can use Python to create a hash using the SHA algorithm:

from passlib.hash import sha512_cryptsha512_crypt.using(salt = "qIo0foX5",rounds=5000).hash("myPassword")

Note the use of a parameter called salt. Salting is the procedure of adding random characters before hashing.

Running this code will give us the following result:

Note that when we use the SHA algorithm, the hash generated is of 512 bytes.