hash() Function
hash() is a PHP native function, that computes the hash of strings, with a wide range of algorithms, cryptographic or not.
It takes an algorithm name, such as md5, sha256, sha3-512, crc32, or ripemd160, and a string of data, and returns a hexadecimal digest by default, or raw binary output when the optional third argument is set to true. The list of algorithms available at runtime can be retrieved with hash_algos(), since it depends on how PHP was built.
hash() is meant for general-purpose hashing, such as checksums, cache keys, or data fingerprinting, and should not be used to store passwords: for that, PHP provides the dedicated password_hash() and password_verify() functions, which apply a slow, salted, adaptive algorithm designed to resist brute-force attacks. Fast general hashes like MD5 or SHA-1 are also considered cryptographically weak for security-sensitive purposes such as digital signatures.
<?php
echo hash('ripemd160', 'The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.');
// produces ec457d0a974c48d5685a7efa03d137dc8bbde7e3
?>