Magic Bytes reference

Magic Bytes reference Introduction

1. magic bytes: also known as magic number is a special sequence of bytes used in computer science to identify or verify file formats.

2. they are usually at the beginning of the file or elsewhere. by examining these specific sequences of bytes, programs can determine the type of file without relying on the file's extension.

3. the role of magicbytes

(1) file type identification: operating system and applications use magic numbers to determine the type of file.

(2) error detection: in some cases, magic numbers can be used to detect whether the file is corrupted or tampered with.

(3) compatibility check: the software can use magic numbers to determine whether a specific version of the file format is supported.

4. use scenarios

(1) file viewer: when opening a file in the file manager, the operating system will read the magic number of the file to determine which application should be used to open it.

(2) data recovery: during the data recovery process, magic numbers can help identify unknown file fragments.

(3) network protocol: in some network protocols, the beginning of the packet may contain magic numbers so that the receiver can verify the type of the packet.