What determines whether or not a given SHA-256 hash digest > than another?
When I use SHA-256 to hash '103' and '1000' I get the following hexadecimal digests:
SHA-256('103') = 454f63ac30c8322997ef025edff6abd23e0dbe7b8a3d5126a894e4a168c1b59b
SHA-256('1000') = 40510175845988f13f6162ed8526f0b09f73384467fa855e1e79b44a56562a58
Using Python, SHA-256('103') > SHA-256('1000') = True.
I understand why subtle differences in input messages create vastly different digests, that the output lengths of all SHA-256 hashes are fixed, and that in this example I'm inputting strings - not numbers.
My question is why is one digest is 'greater' than another, and how is this determined? I stumbled across this problem when looking at the target hash value that a Node on the bitcoin blockchain is required to produce (or undershoot) in order to demonstrate Proof of Work.
Any advice is really appreciated!
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from Bitcoin - The Currency of the Internet https://ift.tt/3wleC1g
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