我应该为数据库中的 id 使用什么数据类型？

Question

I saw many debates and articles as to which of integer(increment) and uuid should be used for ids on database.

There introduced some pros and cons of both the integer and uuid.

For example, integer: fast, but available size is limited(unless you use bigint) uuid: very unique and much more secure, but slow, and storage- consuming

Then, I wondered if using random strings length of around 10( varchar(10) ), comprised of upper and lower case letters, and integers would solve the problems because they are not so big in size and can cover wide range of data(62^10 ways if 10 chars).

So, my question is, Is it good or bad to do that?

Answer 1

There is no absolute bad or good when it comes to database design. You should design your database based on your needs.

You mentioned some pros and cons of using int and uuid and now i recommend you to list your needs so you can choose which one to use.

Also keep in mind that you can use some tricks to get around the limits of both ints and uuids.

For example if uuid seems the right option for you but the speed of looking them up in the database is bothering you, then you can simply use indexing to maximize the speed for uuids. and if you have many writes and you need them to be fast, you can use pre-generated uuids. (generate some uuids, index them, and pick one of them up each time you need to)

And for ints, you can simply use 2 ints as your id which both of them together will make the id or some other math algorithm that make it a little more secure but yet fast enough.

These are just two example of how you can optimize your system so it will be fast enough and yet answering to your needs in the best way possible.

And for the case that it is okay to use both ints and uuids in your database design: it is completely ok if it's the best way of doing it for both satisfying your needs and getting the best performance out of it.