SoftWare Hash IDentifier: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:43, 27 May 2025

Revision as of 07:45, 27 May 2025

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The SoftWare Hash IDentifier was developed by [[Software Heritage]]. Software Heritage's archives, identified by their SWHIDs, were publicly released starting in 2018.<ref name="CNRS_supports">{{cite Q|Q134581205|url-status=live|trans-title=The CNRS supports Software Heritage}}</ref>

{{as of|2020}}, SWHIDs were in use for about nine billion versions of pieces of software,<ref name="CNRS_supports" /> termed "artefacts".<ref name="SWHID_tracking_past">{{cite Q|Q134580517|url-status=live}}</ref> SWHIDs are integrated with research repositories including [[HAL (open archive)|HAL]], [[Zenodo]] and the French catalog of Academic Research Free Software.<ref>{{Cite web |language=en |title=About the site |url=https://logiciels.catalogue-esr.fr/readme |website=French Catalog of Academic Research Free Software |access-date=2025-05-24}}</ref> SoftThe identifier can be used by [[package manager]], [[GNU Guix|Guix]] rely on it to retrieve source code in a software archive when unavailable from its original URL<ref>{{Cite web |language=en |title=Identifying software |url=https://guix.gnu.org/fr/blog/2024/identifying-software/ |website=GNU Guix Blog |access-date=2025-05-27}}</ref>.

The acronym SWHID originally referred to "Software Heritage Identifiers" used to catalog software artifacts in the early days of the [[Software Heritage]] archive.<ref>{{Cite web |language=en |title=SoftWare Hash IDentifier (SWHID) |url=https://www.softwareheritage.org/software-hash-identifier-swhid/ |website=Software Heritage |access-date=2025-05-24}}</ref> It later evolved into an open standard through a dedicated working group<ref>{{Cite web |language=en |title=SWHID working group |url=https://www.swhid.org/ |access-date=2025-05-24}}</ref> and was standardized as ISO in April 2025 under the more general name "Software Hash Identifier"<ref>{{Cite web |language=en |title=ISO/IEC 18670:2025 |url=https://www.iso.org/standard/89985.html |website=ISO |access-date=2025-05-24}}</ref> The identifier can be used by [[package manager]], [[GNU Guix|Guix]] rely on it to retrieve source code in a software archive when unavailable from its original URL<ref>{{Cite web |language=en |title=Identifying software |url=https://guix.gnu.org/fr/blog/2024/identifying-software/ |website=GNU Guix Blog |access-date=2025-05-27}}</ref>.

[[Télécom Paris]] welcomed the ISO normalization arguing that it is a significant step in global digital infrastructure, providing traceability of software affected by vulnerabilities.<ref name="TelecomParis_significant_advance">{{cite Q|Q134580605|url-status=live|trans-title=A significant advance for global digital infrastructure: the ISO/IEC 18670 standard is now official}}</ref> UNESCO stated that SWHID is useful for the reproducibility and long-term accessibility of software.<ref name="UNESCO_archiving_open" />