Ulid

The Ulid NuGet package is a .NET library for generating and working with ULIDs (Universally Unique Lexicographically Sortable Identifiers). This package provides a fast and efficient implementation of ULID for .NET applications.

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• Uniqueness: ULIDs are designed to be globally unique, reducing the risk of collisions.

• Lexicographical Sorting: ULIDs can be sorted lexicographically, which is useful for indexing and sharding in databases.

• Compactness: ULIDs are shorter and more efficient than UUIDs, making them easier to handle and store.

• Monotonic Sort Order: ULIDs maintain a consistent sort order, which is beneficial for time-based data.

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1. Install the Ulid Package: You can install the package via the NuGet Package Manager or the Package Manager Console:

   Install-Package Ulid

2. Generating ULIDs: Once installed, you can use the Ulid package to generate and work with ULIDs. Here's a simple example:

   using System;
   using UlidNet;
   
   class Program
   {
       static void Main(string[] args)
       {
           // Generate a new ULID
           var ulid = Ulid.NewUlid();
           Console.WriteLine(ulid); // Output: 01ARZ3NDEKTSV4RRFFQ69G5FAV
   
           // Parse a ULID
           var parsedUlid = Ulid.Parse("01ARZ3NDEKTSV4RRFFQ69G5FAV");
           Console.WriteLine(parsedUlid.Time); // Output: The timestamp part of the ULID
       }
   }

3. Generating ULID with a Specific Timestamp: You can also generate a ULID with a specific timestamp:

   using System;
   using UlidNet;
   
   class Program
   {
       static void Main(string[] args)
       {
           var timestamp = new DateTimeOffset(2024, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, TimeSpan.Zero).ToUnixTimeMilliseconds();
           var ulid = Ulid.NewUlid(timestamp);
           Console.WriteLine(ulid); // Output: A ULID with the specified timestamp
       }
   }

Example Usage in a Web API

Here's an example of how you might use ULID in an ASP.NET Core Web API to generate unique IDs for new records:

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using UlidNet;
using System;

[ApiController]
[Route("api/[controller]")]
public class RecordsController : ControllerBase
{
    [HttpPost("create")]
    public IActionResult CreateRecord()
    {
        var id = Ulid.NewUlid().ToString();
        var record = new Record { Id = id, Name = "Sample Record" };
        // Save the record to the database
        return Ok(record);
    }
}

In this example, the Ulid.NewUlid method generates a unique identifier for each new record, ensuring that each record has a unique and sortable ID.

By using the Ulid NuGet package, you can efficiently generate and manage globally unique, sortable identifiers in your .NET applications.