One-way function: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:04, 10 April 2022

Revision as of 19:20, 4 June 2022

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{{Short description|Function thatused isin easycomputer to compute on every input, but hard to invert given the image of a random inputcryptography}}

{{unsolved|computer science|Do one-way functions exist?}}

In [[computer science]], a '''one-way function''' is a [[function (mathematics)|function]] that is easy to compute on every input, but hard to [[Inverse function|invert]] given the [[image (mathematics)|image]] of a random input. Here, "easy" and "hard" are to be understood in the sense of [[computational complexity theory]], specifically the theory of [[polynomial time]] problems. Not being [[One-to-one function|one-to-one]] is not considered sufficient for a function to be called one-way (see [[#Theoretical definition|Theoretical definition]], below).