Itemuid

Itemuid is a term used to describe a unique identifier assigned to an item within a system. An itemuid is designed to uniquely distinguish a single item instance, enabling reliable reference, retrieval, and auditing across components, services, and data stores. It is typically opaque to users; human-friendly names may change while the itemuid remains stable.

An itemuid may be scoped locally to a database or globally across an organization or network. In practice, itemuids should be stable over the item’s lifetime, even if other attributes (such as name or category) change. They are often created automatically at item creation time and should be resistant to collisions.

Common formats include universally unique identifiers (UUIDs), ordered or time-based identifiers (ULIDs), or numeric or alphanumeric keys assigned by a system. The choice of format depends on requirements such as readability, sorting, or database constraints. Some systems use composite keys that combine an itemuid with a version or variant code to handle item evolution.

Use cases include inventory tracking, product catalogs, digital asset management, and API resource addressing. In APIs, an itemuid is frequently used as the canonical identifier in endpoints or payloads, enabling idempotent operations and efficient reconciliation across systems.

Security and privacy considerations include avoiding exposure of sensitive data through the uid itself and providing proper access controls. While itemuid is a neutral concept, its implementation varies by platform and domain.