veritas -- validate that a Humdrum document has not been modified


veritas [-v] inputfile


The veritas command provides an on-line means for formally or informally verifying that a given Humdrum file originates with a given publisher or source, or whether the file has been modified in some way. The command provides a convenient way of reassuring scholars of the accuracy or origin of a document.

The veritas command looks for a checksum validation number encoded in a VTS reference record in the given input file. (See the Reference Records (1) description.) The command then calculates the checksum for the file (excluding the VTS record itself) and compares this value with the checksum encoded in the file. If these values differ, a warning is issued that the file has been modified in some way. If these values are the same, a confirming message is issued.

Note that this verification process is easily circumvented by malicious individuals. For better security, the -v option should be invoked and the output checksum value should be compared with an independent printed list of checksums provided by the supplier of the electronic document.


The veritas command provides the following options:
-hdisplays a help screen summarizing the command syntax
-vinvoke verbose mode
Options are specified in the command line.

The -v option will cause the checksum validation number to be output. This value should be manually compared with a printed checksum provided by the supplier of the electronic document. Note that the change of even a single character in a file typically leads to a radically different checksum.


DOS 2.0 and up, with the MKS Toolkit. OS/2 with the MKS Toolkit. UNIX systems supporting the Korn shell or Bourne shell command interpreters, and POSIX.2 compliant cksum command.


cksum (UNIX), sum (UNIX)