GUID generator
What is the generator used for?
The GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) generator, also known as UUID (Universally Unique Identifier), allows you to create unique identifiers for resources.
GUIDs are primarily used by web, application, and database developers. These identifiers can be used as authentication keys (to access a specific resource such as an object or user after logging in) since they are much more secure than regular numbers. However, do not use them to grant permissions to a user.
How is a GUID/UUID formed?
These identifiers are separated into 5 sections by hyphens (-). The first section contains 8 hexadecimal characters (0 to 9, A, B, C, D, E and F). The next 3 sections contain 4 hexadecimal characters and the last section contains 12 hexadecimal characters.
In more technical terms, these have a value of 128 bits or 16 bytes.
What is the difference between a GUID and a UUID?
GUID is Microsoft's implementation of the UUID standard. They are essentially synonyms, as they both do the same thing.
Which programming languages support UUIDs?
UUIDs can be used with Python, Java, C#, C++, Javascript and more.
Are these identifiers secure?
The chances of a collision between two GUIDs are astronomically small, but not impossible. A GUID contains 122 random bits (excluding hyphens), so 2^122 (5.3169119831396634916152282411214e+36) possible combinations.
If you get a collision, you are extremely lucky (or unlucky depending on which perspective you look at it from).