title: What does the negative sign indicates in the computed checksum value?
body: <p>I'm computing the hash value using CHECKSUM() function in MS SQL. Why some of the computed values have a positive sign and some of them have a negative sign?</p>
  
  <pre><code>SELECT CommodityName, CHECKSUM(CommodityName) FROM Table1
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Result:</p>
  
  <pre><code>CommodityName        Checksum
  BuildingSupplies    -1674787472
  Cutting Tools        1343439447
  Electrical           1703618888
  Filtration          -1653028371
  PPE                 -2086698034
  Spare Parts          1752220254
  Welding             -178487827
  </code></pre>