Pwgid

Pwgid is a term that appears in several computing contexts and does not refer to a single, universal concept. Depending on the domain, pwgid can denote a user or resource group identifier, a device or job identifier within PWG-related standards, or simply a placeholder name for a group ID in code or data models.

In POSIX and Unix-like systems, the closely related concept is pw_gid, the primary group identifier associated with a user. This numeric value is stored in the password database and exposed through the struct passwd as the pw_gid member. It is used by the kernel and user-space tools to enforce access control and to relate a user to groups defined in /etc/group or analogous sources. In practice, pw_gid connects a user to their primary group, with additional groups listed in supplementary group memberships.

In the Printer Working Group (PWG) ecosystem, which develops standards for printing interoperability, identifiers prefixed with pwg are common in documentation and metadata conventions. Some PWG drafts or implementations may refer to a pwgid as a unique identifier for printers, queues, or print jobs within a given profile. The exact meaning of pwgid is specification-specific and not universally standardized across PWG documents.

In software development and data modeling, pwgid is often used as a variable, field, or database column name representing a group identifier. The data type may be integer, unsigned integer, or string, depending on the schema and language in use.

See also: GID, PWG, POSIX, Identity management.