Editing Hash function (section)

===Applicability===
A hash function that allows only certain table sizes or strings only up to a certain length, or cannot accept a seed (i.e. allow double hashing) is less useful than one that does.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

A hash function is applicable in a variety of situations. Particularly within cryptography, notable applications include:<ref>{{Citation |last1=Wagner |first1=Urs |title=Hash Functions |date=2023 |work=Trends in Data Protection and Encryption Technologies |pages=21–24 |editor-last=Mulder |editor-first=Valentin |place=Cham |publisher=Springer Nature Switzerland |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-33386-6_5 |isbn=978-3-031-33386-6 |last2=Lugrin |first2=Thomas |editor2-last=Mermoud |editor2-first=Alain |editor3-last=Lenders |editor3-first=Vincent |editor4-last=Tellenbach |editor4-first=Bernhard|doi-access=free }}</ref>

* [[File verification|Integrity checking]]: Identical hash values for different files imply equality, providing a reliable means to detect file modifications.
* [[Key derivation function|Key derivation]]: Minor input changes result in a random-looking output alteration, known as the diffusion property. Thus, hash functions are valuable for key derivation functions.
* [[Message authentication code]]s (MACs): Through the integration of a confidential key with the input data, hash functions can generate MACs ensuring the genuineness of the data, such as in [[HMAC]]s.
* Password storage: The password's hash value does not expose any password details, emphasizing the importance of securely storing hashed passwords on the server.
* [[Digital signature|Signatures]]: Message hashes are signed rather than the whole message.