CUID

CUID is a type of identifier designed to provide unique, readable, and collision-resistant IDs. It is particularly useful in web applications and distributed systems where unique and human-readable identifiers are required frequently.

Structure of CUID

A CUID is composed of several parts: a timestamp, a counter, a fingerprint of the generating machine, and random characters. This structure ensures that CUIDs are both unique and resistant to collisions, even when generated in parallel.

Format of CUID

c-tttttt-cccc-ffff-rrrrrrrr

• c is a constant character indicating the start of the CUID.
• t represents the timestamp, encoded as multiple characters.
• c represents the counter, ensuring uniqueness within the same millisecond.
• f represents the fingerprint of the generating machine.
• r represents random characters to further reduce the risk of collisions.

Benefits of using CUIDs

• Uniqueness: CUIDs are designed to be globally unique, combining a timestamp, counter, machine fingerprint, and random characters to minimize the risk of collisions.
• Readability: CUIDs are more human-readable than many other identifiers, making them easier to work with in various contexts.
• Collision Resistance: The multi-component structure of CUIDs ensures high collision resistance, even in environments with high ID generation rates.
• Ease of Implementation: CUIDs are simple to implement and understand, making them accessible for a wide range of applications.
• Compactness: While slightly longer than some other IDs, CUIDs are still relatively compact and efficient for storage.

Downsides of using CUIDs

• Less Widely Adopted: CUIDs are not as widely adopted as UUIDs, which may limit their compatibility with certain systems and libraries.
• Complexity: The combination of multiple components (timestamp, counter, fingerprint, random characters) adds some complexity compared to simpler identifiers.

CUID vs. UUID

• Uniqueness: Both CUIDs and UUIDs are designed to be globally unique, but CUIDs achieve this through a combination of timestamp, counter, machine fingerprint, and randomness, while UUIDs rely solely on randomness.
• Readability: CUIDs are more human-readable compared to the hexadecimal encoding of UUIDs.
• Collision Resistance: CUIDs offer higher collision resistance due to their multi-component structure.

In summary, CUIDs provide a robust solution for generating unique, readable, and collision-resistant identifiers in web applications and distributed systems. Their structure ensures high uniqueness and readability, making them well-suited for a variety of use cases, particularly those requiring frequent ID generation and human interaction. However, their adoption is less widespread compared to UUIDs, which may affect compatibility with some systems.