There certainly are such algorithms. The Henry Classification System is one such algorithm and it's been used for more than century[1]. Even in the 1940s and

There certainly are such algorithms. The Henry Classification System is one such algorithm and it's been used for more than century[1]. Even in the 1940s and 50s, before digital computers, you could fingerprint a suspect and through a manual application of the algorithm obtain a unique ID ("the same stream of bytes" as you say). You could then do a look-up to see if he had a criminal record. [1] To be precise, the Henry system uses all ten prints, but single finger classifications also exist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Classification_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Classification_System