Platform-independent GUID generation in C++?

c++ cross-platform guid uuid
Moses Schwartz picture Moses Schwartz · Feb 12, 2009 · Viewed 61.5k times · Source

What is the best way to programmatically generate a GUID or UUID in C++ without relying on a platform-specific tool? I am trying to make unique identifiers for objects in a simulation, but can't rely on Microsoft's implementation as the project is cross-platform.

Notes:

  • Since this is for a simulator, I don't really need cryptographic randomness.
  • It would be best if this is a 32 bit number.

Answer

Anonymous picture Anonymous · Feb 12, 2009

If you can afford to use Boost, then there is a UUID library that should do the trick. It's very straightforward to use - check the documentation and this answer.

Related questions

How to get current time and date in C++?

Is there a cross-platform way to get the current date and time in C++?

Read More
How to detect reliably Mac OS X, iOS, Linux, Windows in C preprocessor?

If there's some cross-platform C/C++ code that should be compiled on Mac OS X, iOS, Linux, Windows, how can I detect them reliably during preprocessor process?

Read More
Automatically add all files in a folder to a target using CMake?

I am considering switching a cross platform project from separate build management systems in Visual C++, XCode and makefiles to CMake. One essential feature I need is to add automatically all files in a directory to a target. While this …

Read More