title: Hash Code and Checksum - what's the difference?
body: <p>My understanding is that a hash code and checksum are similar things - a numeric value, computed for a block of data, that is <em>relatively</em> unique.</p>
  
  <p>i.e. The probability of two blocks of data yielding the same numeric hash/checksum value is low enough that it can be ignored for the purposes of the application.</p>
  
  <p>So do we have two words for the same thing, or are there important differences between hash codes and checksums?</p>