

UUID_TO_BIN, BIN_TO_UUID, and IS_UUID are three functions that can be used to eliminate the disadvantages of using MySQL UUID over AUTO_INCREMENT.
#GENERATE UUID MYSQL CODE#
Some disadvantages of MySQL UUID are that it takes up more space in the memory than a normal integer, can make your code difficult to read and debug, and can cause some unwanted performance issues.
#GENERATE UUID MYSQL OFFLINE#
MySQL UUID provides global uniqueness, provides security as it doesn't share any data, can be generated offline and makes it easier to perform certain tasks The first group of 8 hexadecimal characters represents the time stamp, the next three groups of 4 hexadecimal characters represent the version number and the variant, and the final group of 12 hexadecimal characters represents the randomly generated value. The UUID value is a hexadecimal string of 32 characters, separated by hyphens in a specific format 8-4-4-4-12. MySQL UUID or Universally Unique Identifier is a 128-bit value that is unique across the globe and is generated using an algorithm. The server ID is 1 byte long in UUID(short). The returned value of the UUID(short) consists of the bitwise conglomeration of the server ID, a fairly static time component, and a sequentially increasing 24-bit integer. The returned value of the UUID consists of the bitwise conglomeration of the server ID, the current timestamp, a few bits, and utility bits. UUID(short) is short for Short Universally Unique Identifier and is a 64-bit unsigned integer. UUID is short for Universally Unique Identifier and is a 128-bit long value. We can understand this function with the help of an example, Let us create a Customers table with 2 columns, cus_id (BINARY with size 16) and cus_name with VARCHAR data type. This function is used to store UUID values in your database. In MySQL, UUID values are converted into binary values by using the UUID_TO_BIN function. Let us look at these functions one by one. NOTE: The above functions can only be used in MySQL 8.0 version or later. The main objective of all of these functions is to store the UUID values in a 0,1 or binary format and whenever we want to view these values, we can view them in the VARCHAR format. There are three functions available in MySQL that we can use to eliminate the disadvantages of using UUID. Now in the next section, we are going to look at different ways we can counter or eliminate some of the disadvantages of using MySQL UUID. We have gone through some of the disadvantages of using MySQL UUID over AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY. Using MySQL UUID might cause unwanted performance issues because of its size and complexity.For example, it is much easier to see '7' as an ID value than to see 739bcb2d-8b63-12ec-9c44-8c19450c827b. Another downside of using MySQL UUID is that it makes it difficult to read or debug your code.It uses 8 bytes of space as compared to 4 bytes occupied by an integer. One of the biggest disadvantages of using MySQL UUID is that it occupies more space in the memory.Now, we will move ahead and see some of the disadvantages of the MySQL UUID() function. With MySQL UUID, you can generate the ID for the parent table and add data in both the parent and child table simultaneously. In that case, you'll add the data in the parent table, get the generated ID and then insert the data in the child table corresponding to that ID. Let us assume you want to add a row of data in both the parent and child tables. Using MySQL UUID also makes certain tasks easier.MySQL UUID's ability to be generated offline makes it much more convenient to use as it eliminates the need to involve the server every time you want to generate a unique value.We can use MySQL UUID values inside the URL too.Security is another great feature of MySQL UUID, as it does not provide any info about our data which in turn protects it from hackers and intruders looking to misuse it.This feature of MySQL UUID allows us to merge tables and datasets from different servers without any worry of repeating values.

MySQL UUID not only creates unique values across the table but also across different databases and servers.In this section, we are going to see the advantages as well as disadvantages of using MySQL UUID() over AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY. So, one can be seen as a replacement or alternative to the other. We can generate unique values in a table using the AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY and the same can be achieved using the UUID() function.
