Programming ColdFusion

Name

Hash — New as of ColdFusion 4.5

Synopsis

Hash(string)

One-way encrypts string using the MD5 hash algorithm. The resulting string is a 32-character hexidecimal representation of the original string. Because the MD5 algorithm is a one-way hash, there is no way to decrypt the encrypted string. The Hash( ) function is often used to hash passwords before storing them in a database. This allows you to store passwords in a database without being able to see the actual password. When building an application that uses hashed passwords for authentication, the password entered by the user should be hashed, then compared to the hashed value stored in the database. If they match, you know the user entered a valid password. Here’s an example using the Hash( ) function:

<CFSET MyHash = Hash('This is a test')>

<CFOUTPUT>#MyHash#</CFOUTPUT>