How to make a unique ID

Question

I'm working on a project where I need to generate unique IDs for users or items, but I’m unsure of the best approach to ensure uniqueness and avoid collisions. Could someone provide insights into methods or algorithms for generating unique identifiers, especially in distributed systems?

Any examples of unique ID generation in languages like Python, Java, or Node.js would be valuable.

Answer 1

To create unique IDs, you can use various techniques depending on your project’s needs, especially in distributed systems. Here’s a breakdown of some effective approaches:

1. UUIDs (Universally Unique Identifiers)

UUID (v4): Generates a random 128-bit identifier, generally unique with a very low collision probability.

• Python: import uuid; unique_id = uuid.uuid4()
• Java: UUID uniqueID = UUID.randomUUID();
• Node.js: const { v4: uuidv4 } = require('uuid'); const uniqueID = uuidv4();

2. ULIDs (Universally Lexicographically Sortable Identifiers)

Useful for IDs that need to be time-ordered. ULIDs generate a 128-bit identifier based on timestamp and randomness.

• Python: import ulid; unique_id = ulid.new()
• Node.js: const ulid = require('ulid'); const uniqueID = ulid.ulid();

3. ObjectID

ObjectIDs are unique, 12-byte identifiers that combine a timestamp, machine ID, process ID, and a counter.

• Python (bson library): from bson import ObjectId; unique_id = ObjectId()
• Node.js (MongoDB): const { ObjectId } = require('mongodb'); const uniqueID = new ObjectId();

4. Custom ID Generators with Timestamps + Randomness

Concatenate a timestamp and a random number for uniqueness.

For Python

import time, random
unique_id = f"{int(time.time() * 1000)}-{random.randint(1000, 9999)}"

For Node.js

const uniqueID = `${Date.now()}-${Math.floor(Math.random() * 10000)}`;

5. Snowflake IDs

Snowflake IDs are 64-bit unique IDs optimized for distributed systems, popularized by X.

• Python: Libraries like snowflake-id or snowflake-connector-python
• Node.js: const { Snowflake } = require('node-snowflake'); const uniqueID = Snowflake.generate()