Generate UUIDs in Python

Generating a UUID in Python is straightforward thanks to the built-in uuid module. Here are examples of how to generate a UUID using this module:

Basic UUID Generation

The uuid module in Python provides functions to generate different versions of UUIDs. The most commonly used version is UUIDv4, which is randomly generated.

Example: Generating a UUID (version 4)

import uuid

# Generate a new UUID (version 4)
new_uuid = uuid.uuid4()

# Output the generated UUID
print(f"Generated UUID: {new_uuid}")

Explanation

• uuid.uuid4(): This function generates a random UUID (UUIDv4).
• new_uuid: The generated UUID object.
• print(f"Generated UUID: {new_uuid}"): Outputs the UUID as a string.

Running the Code

Save the code in a file, for example, generate_uuid.py, and run it using Python:

python generate_uuid.py

Output Example

When you run the script, the output will be similar to:

Generated UUID: 123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000

Each time you run the program, a different UUID will be generated.

Generating Different Versions of UUIDs

The uuid module can generate other versions of UUIDs as well:

UUID Version 1 (Based on time and node)

import uuid

# Generate a new UUID (version 1)
new_uuid = uuid.uuid1()

# Output the generated UUID
print(f"Generated UUID (v1): {new_uuid}")

UUID Version 3 (Based on MD5 hash of a namespace and name)

import uuid

# Define a namespace UUID and a name
namespace_uuid = uuid.NAMESPACE_DNS
name = 'example.com'

# Generate a new UUID (version 3)
new_uuid = uuid.uuid3(namespace_uuid, name)

# Output the generated UUID
print(f"Generated UUID (v3): {new_uuid}")

UUID Version 5 (Based on SHA-1 hash of a namespace and name)

import uuid

# Define a namespace UUID and a name
namespace_uuid = uuid.NAMESPACE_DNS
name = 'example.com'

# Generate a new UUID (version 5)
new_uuid = uuid.uuid5(namespace_uuid, name)

# Output the generated UUID
print(f"Generated UUID (v5): {new_uuid}")

Summary

Here are the key steps to generate different versions of UUIDs in Python using the built-in uuid module:

1. Generate a random UUID (version 4):

   import uuid
   new_uuid = uuid.uuid4()
   print(f"Generated UUID: {new_uuid}")
   

2. Generate a time-based UUID (version 1):

   import uuid
   new_uuid = uuid.uuid1()
   print(f"Generated UUID (v1): {new_uuid}")
   

3. Generate a name-based UUID (version 3, MD5):

   import uuid
   namespace_uuid = uuid.NAMESPACE_DNS
   name = 'example.com'
   new_uuid = uuid.uuid3(namespace_uuid, name)
   print(f"Generated UUID (v3): {new_uuid}")
   

4. Generate a name-based UUID (version 5, SHA-1):

   import uuid
   namespace_uuid = uuid.NAMESPACE_DNS
   name = 'example.com'
   new_uuid = uuid.uuid5(namespace_uuid, name)
   print(f"Generated UUID (v5): {new_uuid}")
   

These methods provide flexible options for generating different types of UUIDs in Python.