How do serial (registration numbers) work?

[PatboyX]

im at work...everyone else is off, just me and the custodians.
my job today is to enter serial numbers into every machine in the building.
bad for me: everyone turned their machine off before vacation, which means i get to roam around and enter the numbers manually.
so...
every so often, ill enter a number wrong and notice as it is "processing" the number. sometimes it gives me an error and i correct the mistake, sometimes it just accepts it.
is there just a database in the software that has a list of acceptable numbers?
that seems too simple...wouldnt that be easy to get into if someone didnt want to pay for it?

 

[xospec1alk]

why is everyone off today? its a thursday...?

 

[jlee]

I'm off, but I have class today..sounds a little less boring than your job, but not by much.. 😛

 

[isasir]

I assume there's some convuluted algorithm that processes all the serial numbers to see if they match. Like maybe it takes every 2nd digit and takes the square root, and takes every 10th digit and multiplies it by 3, takes the 3rd letter which always is a vowel etc. and in the end all of them must match some final result.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

Originally posted by: isasir
I assume there's some convuluted algorithm that processes all the serial numbers to see if they match. Like maybe it takes every 2nd digit and takes the square root, and takes every 10th digit and multiplies it by 3, takes the 3rd letter which always is a vowel etc. and in the end all of them must match some final result.

very likely

this is how CC numbers are generated as well. they can tell an invalid CC num just by running the simple mathematical tests.

 

[PatboyX]

thanks for the info.
i have no idea why everyone is off. it doesnt really matter to me: when no one is around, it is much easier to get work done.
but, as my description suggests, it is slightly tedious and boring.