MD5 Hash in Python

Introduction:

In this tutorial, we are learning about MD5 hash in Python. Cryptographic hashes are used in daily life, such as Digital signatures, mathematical proofs, control codes, fingerprints, checksums (integrity checks), message hashes, store passwords, etc. It is also used to send messages over the Internet or store messages in databases for security purposes. Many hash functions are defined in Python's "hashlib" library. This tutorial explains how MD5 hashes are defined and how they work.

What is the Hash?

A hash function takes a variable-length byte array as a variable and converts it into a fixed-length sequence. However, getting back the original data (input bytes) is not easy. For example, if a is your input data and h is a hash function, then calculating h(a) is quick and easy, but trying to retrieve it again is a very time-consuming task. The return value of a hash function is called a hash or hash value.

What is the MD5 Hash?

This hash function accepts a sequence of byte arrays and returns a 128-bit hash value. The associated function is:

1. encode(): It converts a string to bytes using a hash function.
2. digest(): It returns encoded data into the byte format.
3. hexdigest(): It returns encoded data into the hexadecimal format.

The md5 library is a Python library. It provides a simple interface for generating the MD5 hashes. This library has been deprecated in favor of the hashlib library in Python, which can provide a more flexible as well as secure interface for generating the hashes. Most algorithms are implemented in the hashlib module, but the hashlib can also be used to manage algorithms if OpenSSL is installed. Firstly, you need to import the hashlib module to use the hash algorithm. The import command is given below -

Now check if the required algorithms are present in the hashlib module or if all algorithms are present -

After running the above code, then we find the following output -

{'whirlpool', 'sha384', 'sha3_384', 'md5', 'shake_256', 'md5-sha1', 'blake2b', 'ripemd160', 'sha3_224', 'md4', 'blake2s', 'mdc2', 'sha224', 'sha1', 'sha3_256', 'sha512_224', 'sha3_512', 'sha512', 'sm3', 'shake_128', 'sha256', 'sha512_256'}

The above list of the algorithms available in the Hashlib module includes algorithms in OpenSSL. But to check the list of algorithms that are always available, we can check it at algorithm_guaranteed.

After running the above code, then we find the following output -

{'blake2b', 'shake_128', 'sha224', 'sha384', 'sha256', 'sha3_384', 'sha1', 'sha3_256', 'sha3_224', 'sha3_512', 'sha512', 'md5', 'shake_256', 'blake2s'}

Program Code:

Here, we give a program code of MD5 hash in Python. The code is given below -

Output:

The above code is used bytes and can be accepted by a hash function. The md5 hash function encodes this and then uses digest() to print the equivalent encoded byte string. Now, we compile the above code and find the equivalent byte value of the given hash value. So, the finding output is given in below -

The equivalent byte value of the given hash is: b'g\x13\x8b\xbf\x1fy\xf4\xaa\x8e\x00|_o{\x1d\xea'

Program Code:

Here, we give a program code of MD5 hash in Python to find the equivalent hexadecimal value of the given hash. The code is given below -

Output:

The above code uses the encode() function to convert the string into equivalent bytes so that the hash function can accept it. The md5 hash function encodes this, and then the hexdigest() function prints the hexadecimal value equivalent to the hash value. Now, we compile the above code and find the equivalent hexadecimal value of the given hash value. So, the finding output is given in below -

The equivalent hexadecimal value of the given hash is: 67138bbf1f79f4aa8e007c5f6f7b1dea