Serial number

Information about Serial number

Enlarge picture
Serial number from an identity document
A serial number is a unique number assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value. Common usage has expanded the term to refer to any unique alphanumeric identifier for one of a large set of objects, however in data processing and allied fields in computer science. Not every numerical identifier is a serial number; identifying numbers which are not serial numbers are sometimes called nominal numbers.

Sequence numbers are almost always non-negative, and typically start at zero or one.

Applications of serial numbering

For more details on this topic, see Numbering scheme.
Serial numbers are valuable in quality control, as once a defect is found in the production of a particular batch of product, the serial number will quickly identify which units are affected. Serial numbers are also used as a deterrent against theft and counterfeit products in that serial numbers can be recorded, and stolen or otherwise irregular goods can be identified.

Many computer programs come with serial numbers, often called "CD keys", and the installers often require the user to enter a valid serial number to continue. These numbers are verified using a certain algorithm to avoid usage of counterfeit keys.

Serial numbers also help track down counterfeit currency, because in some countries each banknote has a unique serial number.

The International Standard Serial Number or ISSN seen on magazines and other periodicals, an equivalent to the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) applied to books, is serially assigned but takes its name from the library science use of serial to mean a periodical.

Certificates and Certificate Authorities (CA) are necessary for widespread use of cryptography. These depend on applying mathematically rigorous serial numbers and serial number arithmetic

Enlarge picture
The RAF serial (XG900) on the Short SC.1


The term "serial number" is also used in military formations as an alternative to the expression "service number". In air forces the serial number is used to uniquely identify individual aircraft and is usually painted on both sides of the aircraft fuselage, most often in the tail area, although in some cases the serial is painted on the side of the aircraft's fin/rudder(s).

Enlarge picture
The Vampire prototype LZ548/G.


In the case of the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) the "Serial" takes the form of two letters followed by three numbers, e.g., BT308—the prototype Avro Lancaster, or XS903—an English Electric Lightning F.6 at one time based at RAF Binbrook . During the Second World War RAF aircraft carrying secret equipment or that were in themselves secret had "/G" added to the end of the serial, the "G" signifying "Guard", denoting that the aircraft was to have an armed guard at all times while on the ground, e.g., LZ548/G—the prototype de Havilland Vampire jet fighter, or ML926/G—a de Havilland Mosquito XVI experimentally fitted with H2S radar. Prior to this two-letter, three-number scheme, the RAF and preceding Royal Flying Corps (RFC) utilised a serial consisting of a letter followed by four figures, e.g., D8096 - a Bristol F.2 Fighter currently owned by the Shuttleworth Collection, or K5054 - the prototype Supermarine Spitfire. The serial number follows the aircraft throughout its period of service.

Serial number arithmetic

Main article: Serial Number Arithmetic


Serial numbers are often used in network protocols. However, most sequence numbers in computer protocols are limited to a fixed number of bits, and will wrap around after a sufficiently many numbers have been allocated. Thus, recently-allocated serial numbers may duplicate very old serial numbers, but not other recently-allocated serial numbers. To avoid ambiguity with these non-unique numbers, RFC 1982, "Serial Number Arithmetic" defines special rules for calculations involving these kinds of serial numbers.

Lollipop sequence number spaces are a more recent and sophisticated scheme for dealing with finite-sized sequence numbers in protocols.

See also

References

  • Elz, R., and R. Bush, RFC 1982 "Serial Number Arithmetic", Network Working Group, August 1996.
  • Plummer, William W. "Sequence Number Arithmetic". Cambridge, Massachusetts: Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc., 21 September 1978.

External links

number is an abstract idea used in counting and measuring. A symbol which represents a number is called a numeral, but in common usage the word number is used for both the idea and the symbol.
..... Click the link for more information.
Identification can mean
  • Identification (psychoanalysis)
  • Recognition of human individuals
  • An identity document
  • Identification (information)
  • Identification (parameter), in statistics and econometrics, how parameters can be inferred from data

..... Click the link for more information.
A successor can refer to
  • Someone who, or something which succeeds or comes after (see success and succession).
In mathematics:
  • A successor cardinal.
  • A successor ordinal.
  • A successor function.
  • A successor vertex.

..... Click the link for more information.
A predecessor can be:
  • Someone who, or something which precedes or comes before.
  • A predecessor vertex.

See also

  • Successor

..... Click the link for more information.
The integers (from the Latin integer, which means with untouched integrity, whole, entire) are the set of numbers including the whole numbers (0, 1, 2, 3, …) and their negatives (0, −1, −2, −3, …).
..... Click the link for more information.
Alphanumeric is a collective term used to identify letters of the Latin alphabet and Arabic digits. There are either 36 (single case) or 62 (case-sensitive) alphanumeric characters. The alphanumeric character set consists of the numbers 0 to 9 and letters A to Z.
..... Click the link for more information.
SET may stand for:
  • Sanlih Entertainment Television, a television channel in Taiwan
  • Secure electronic transaction, a protocol used for credit card processing,

..... Click the link for more information.
Data processing is any computer process that converts data into information or knowledge. The processing is usually assumed to be automated and running on a computer. Because data are most useful when well-presented and actually informative
..... Click the link for more information.
Computer science, or computing science, is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems.
..... Click the link for more information.
For the economics term, see .
Nominal numbers are numbers used for identification only. They do not indicate quantity, rank, or any other measurement. The properties of nominal numbers are the minimum required to refer to an entity as a number.
..... Click the link for more information.
There are many different numbering schemes for assigning nominal numbers to entities. These generally require an agreed set of rules, or a central coordinator. The schemes can be considered to be examples of a primary key of a database management system table, whose table
..... Click the link for more information.
'For the Jurassic 5 album, see Quality Control (album)'

In engineering and manufacturing, quality control and quality engineering are involved in developing systems to ensure products or services are designed and produced to meet or exceed customer requirements.
..... Click the link for more information.
In mathematics, computing, linguistics, and related disciplines, an algorithm is a finite list of well-defined instructions for accomplishing some task that, given an initial state, will proceed through a well-defined series of successive states, eventually terminating in an
..... Click the link for more information.
worldwide view of the subject.
Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page.


A counterfeit is an imitation that is made usually with the intent to deceptively represent its content or origins.
..... Click the link for more information.
currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of goods and/or services. It is one form of money, where money is anything that serves as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a standard of value. A currency is the dominant medium of exchange.
..... Click the link for more information.
banknote (often known as a bill or simply note) is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and under many jurisdictions is used as legal tender.
..... Click the link for more information.
An ISSN, or International Standard Serial Number, is a unique eight-digit number used to identify a print or electronic periodical publication. The ISSN system was adopted as international standard ISO 3297 in 1975. The TC 46/SC 9 is responsible for the standard.
..... Click the link for more information.
International Standard Book Number, ISBN, is a unique[1] commercial book identifier barcode. The ISBN system was created in the United Kingdom, in 1966, by the booksellers and stationers W.H. Smith.
..... Click the link for more information.
Library science is an interdisciplinary science incorporating the humanities, law and applied science to study topics related to libraries, the collection, organization, and dissemination of information resources, and the political economy of information.
..... Click the link for more information.
In cryptography, a certificate authority or certification authority (CA) is an entity which issues digital certificates for use by other parties. It is an example of a trusted third party. CAs are characteristic of many public key infrastructure (PKI) schemes.
..... Click the link for more information.
Cryptography (or cryptology; derived from Greek κρυπτός kryptós "hidden," and the verb γράφω gráfo "write" or λεγειν legein
..... Click the link for more information.
A service number is an identification code used to easily identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military, however they may be used in civilian term as well. Social Security Numbers may be seen as types of service numbers.
..... Click the link for more information.
air force, in some countries called an air army, is a military or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare. It typically consists of a combination of fighters, bombers, helicopters, transport planes and other aircraft.
..... Click the link for more information.
Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. The RAF was formed on 1 April 1918 and has since taken a significant role in British military history since then, playing a large part in World War II and in conflicts such as the recent war in Iraq.
..... Click the link for more information.
Type Heavy bomber
Manufacturer Avro
Designed by Roy Chadwick
Maiden flight 8 January 1941
Introduced 1942
Retired 1963 (Canada)
Primary user Royal Air Force
Number built 7,377
Unit cost
..... Click the link for more information.
Type Interceptor
Manufacturer English Electric
Designed by Teddy Petter
Maiden flight 4 August 1954 (P1A) 4 April 1957 [1]
Introduced December 1959
Retired 1988 (RAF)
Primary users Royal Air Force
..... Click the link for more information.
See also: Binbrook, Ontario


Binbrook is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It has a population of about 700 and is roughly between Grimsby, Market Rasen, and Louth.
..... Click the link for more information.
Allied powers:
 Soviet Union
 United States
 United Kingdom
 China
 France
...et al. Axis powers:
 Germany
 Japan
 Italy
...et al.
..... Click the link for more information.
Secrecy is the practice of sharing information among a group of people, which can be as small as one person, while hiding it from others. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controversial.
..... Click the link for more information.
T 11 trainer variant, operated by the Vampire Preservation Group at North Weald, Essex, UK.
Type Fighter aircraft
Manufacturer de Havilland
Maiden flight 20 September 1943
Introduced 1945
Retired 1955 (RAF)

..... Click the link for more information.

This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.