UUID, GUID Generation From Within Ruby

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        An UUID (Universally Unique Identification), also known as GUID, is often used in software to uniquely identify information. Originally designed for distributed systems, UUIDs have quickly found their way to wherever non-conflicting identifiers identifiers are needed.
Following snippet implements a simple cross-platform UUID generation code based on available web-services and and os (win32) specific version.

Please follow the discussion at http://cheind.blogspot.com/2008/12/uuids-for-masses-in-ruby.html for advanced examples and details. In order to run the code you'll need some small extensions to ruby core classes. Please find them at http://cheind.blogspot.com/2008/12/git-repository-for-blog-code.html

#
# Project:: Ruby-Snippets
# 
# Author:: Christoph Heindl  (mailto:christoph.heindl@gmail.com)
# Homepage:: http://cheind.blogspot.com
#
# == Overview
# 
# Implements generation of UUIDs based on
# - A web-service <tt>UUID.from_url</tt>
# - Platform dependant API's <tt>UUID.from_os</tt>
#
# Currently only windows platforms are supported 

require 'net/http'
require 'uri/http'

# Include extensions, http://cheind.blogspot.com/2008/12/git-repository-for-blog-code.html
require 'ext/reverse_merge.rb'
require 'ext/join.rb'
require 'ext/breakup.rb'

# Provides generation of universal unique identifiers (UUID) or more
# commonly known as GUIDs. 
class UUID
  
  # Generates an UUID string by using
  # the web-services provided by http://www.fileformat.info
  # at http://www.fileformat.info/tool/guid.htm
  #
  # Options
  # - <tt>:format</tt> should always be :text
  # - <tt>:uppercase</tt> sets all letters to uppercase if set
  # - <tt>:hyphen</tt> uses '-' between groups if set
  # - <tt>:bracket</tt> wrap UUID in courly brackets if set
  # - <tt>:count</tt> number of UUIDs to receiver.
  #
  #  UUID.from_url # => "{F4C77E3A-F1C3-45BD-B740-7DD61B889AD9}"
  #
  #  UUID.from_url(:count => 2)
  #  # => ["{44351F05-8CCC-4408-9FE0-CE41864F03CE}", 
  #        "{3730EA6C-986B-4A4A-A942-ED4C1192D713}]
  #
  def UUID.from_url(options={})
    options = UUID.default_options(options)
    # Replace all instances of TrueClass to 'Y' for web-service
    options.each { |k,v| options[k] = 'Y' if v.instance_of?(TrueClass) }
    # Build URI
    uri = URI::HTTP.build(
      :host => 'www.fileformat.info',
      :path => '/tool/guid.htm',
      :query => options.join('&', '=')
    )
    # Query
    uuids = Net::HTTP.get(uri)
    # Split lines if multiple uuids and
    uuids.split($/).breakup
  end
  
  # Following block provides platform dependant UUID generation
  if RUBY_PLATFORM =~ /mswin/
    # Windows platform...
    require 'Win32API'
    
    @@api = Win32API.new('rpcrt4', 'UuidCreate', 'P', 'L')
    
    # Generates an UUID string using Win32API.
    #
    # This is based on code from Brad Wilson posted in 2005 at
    # http://www.agileprogrammer.com/dotnetguy/archive/2005/10/27/8991.aspx
    #
    # Options
    # - <tt>:uppercase</tt> sets all letters to uppercase if set
    # - <tt>:hyphen</tt> uses '-' between groups if set
    # - <tt>:bracket</tt> wrap UUID in courly brackets if set
    # - <tt>:count</tt> number of UUIDs to receiver.
    #
    #  UUID.from_os # => "{F4C77E3A-F1C3-45BD-B740-7DD61B889AD9}"
    #
    #  UUID.from_os(:count => 2)
    #  # => ["{44351F05-8CCC-4408-9FE0-CE41864F03CE}", 
    #        "{3730EA6C-986B-4A4A-A942-ED4C1192D713}]
    #
    def UUID.from_os(options={})
      options = UUID.default_options(options)
      # Setup format string based on options
      format = options[:hyphen] ? '{' : ''
      format += options[:bracket] ? 
        '%04X%04X-%04X-%04X-%04X-%04X%04X%04X' :
        '%04X%04X%04X%04X%04X%04X%04X%04X'
      format += options[:hyphen] ? '}' : ''
      # Invoke API
      uuids = []
      options[:count].times do 
        buffer = ' ' * 16
        @@api.call(buffer)
        a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h = buffer.unpack('SSSSSSSS')
        uuid = sprintf(format, a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h)
        uuid.upcase! if options[:uppercase]
        uuids << uuid
      end
      uuids.breakup
    end
  end
  
  private
  
  # Plugin default options if not already specified in options hash
  def UUID.default_options(options)
    raise "Generating zero UUIDs makes really no sense..." if options[:count] == 0
    options.reverse_merge(
      :format => :text,
      :uppercase => true,
      :hyphen => true,
      :bracket => true,
      :count => 1
    )
  end
end

Tags:
• guid
• Ruby
• uuid
• web
• win32

Comments

Snippets Manager replied on Sun, 2009/01/25 - 11:07pm

The UUID module is great. I'm using it in software to uniquely identify information. UUIDs have helped me with non-conflicting identifiers. ---------- supreme buy - keyword elite - seo elite - water4gas - fat loss 4 idiots - rocket spanish

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