sum(1bsd)

sum -- (BSD) calculate a checksum for a file

Synopsis

   /usr/ucb/sum file

Description

sum calculates and displays a 16-bit checksum for the named file, and also displays the size of the file in kilobytes. It is typically used to look for bad spots, or to validate a file communicated over some transmission line. The checksum is calculated by an algorithm which may yield different results on machines with 16-bit ints and machines with 32-bit ints, so it cannot always be used to validate that a file has been transferred between machines with different-sized ints.

Diagnostics

Read error is indistinguishable from EOF on most devices; check the block count.

References

sum(1), wc(1)

Notices

Obsolescent.