TypGUIDs

TypGUIDs are a mechanism used to assign globally unique identifiers to data types within software systems. Each TypGUID uniquely identifies a type across process boundaries, languages, and serialization formats, enabling type resolution without relying on concrete type names or assembly details.

Typically TypGUIDs are 128-bit values formatted as the standard UUID/GUID string form, such as 123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000. They can be generated by standard UUID algorithms, including random-based (version 4) or name-based schemes, or assigned by a central type registry that guarantees consistency across components.

In a system that uses TypGUIDs, a type registry or metadata store associates each TypGUID with metadata about the type: its language representation, namespace, version, serializable layout, and possibly available constructors or factory methods. When data is serialized, the TypGUID is included so that the correct type can be reconstructed during deserialization, even if the concrete type has evolved or moved across modules.

Advantages include decoupling serialized data from concrete type names, enabling safe evolution of types, and facilitating cross-language or cross-process interoperability. TypGUIDs support dynamic loading, plugin architectures, and version-tolerant deserialization.

Limitations include the need for robust governance to avoid GUID collisions, potential performance costs for registry lookups, and the requirement that all participating components reference a common TypGUID source or registry. They are conceptually related to existing GUID/UUID schemes used for interface and type identification in various ecosystems.