UUID

This generator outputs UUIDs based on a quantity and format you set.

A UUID or universal unique identifier is used in computing for many purposes, the most common of which is to provide a unique string of characters that can be used as a referenceable key. Although functionally unique, it is still possible that a randomly generated UUID may be a duplicate of another if the generated set is large enough. However, the chances of this occurring are so mathematically insignificant that it can be disregarded, at least in non-critical use cases. When a UUID is duplicated, this is called a ‘collision’.

UUIDs can be used in databases in place of a table’s auto-incremented integer ID primary key to reference an entry in a table. This is especially important in web programs because an exposed auto-incremented ID that can be iterated over in, for example a URL, can make web scraping and other kinds of internet data misuse much simpler. Unique identifiers such as UUIDs can not be iterated over as it is not practical to predict the next valid UUID or any UUID for that matter.

UUIDs are often mistaken for GUIDs and the words are used interchangeably. These two concepts are similar but based on different standards and have different implementations despite being solutions for a similar problem. GUIDs or global unique identifiers are common within Microsoft products and their documentation.

This generator is useful for creating UUIDs for use in the creation of database entries where such a data type is expected or to add a unique reference to objects when instantiating them while building programs. The possibilities of generating a duplicate of a UUID is extremely remote. To better illustrate the point: it would take 2.71 quintillion attempts to have a 50% chance to generate a duplicate version 4 UUID. Because computers are unable to generate perfectly random data and rely on deterministic outcomes, it is possible to influence this ‘random’ chance but for most purposes it is safe especially when seeding randomness from sources such as environmental noise.