Re:Updating the Git protocol for SHA-256
by kelnos on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @12:01AM
(#23623951)
> Hexadecimal encoding is widely used because computers work with bytes (8 bits). An hexadecimal character is 4 bits, so every byte is two hex characters.
Yes, I'm aware (that electrical & computer engineering degree I have is occasionally good for something ;) ).
But the dominating factor in hashing a bunch of data is the hash function itself, not converting it into something displayable. Converting between binary and hex vs. binary and some other base string is optimizing the wrong part of the process.
And who is converting SHA1 hashes between hex and binary by hand? That doesn't seem like a thing people do.
Yes, I'm aware (that electrical & computer engineering degree I have is occasionally good for something ;) ).
But the dominating factor in hashing a bunch of data is the hash function itself, not converting it into something displayable. Converting between binary and hex vs. binary and some other base string is optimizing the wrong part of the process.
And who is converting SHA1 hashes between hex and binary by hand? That doesn't seem like a thing people do.