guidgen

Guidgen, also known as the GUID Generator, is a utility application that generates Globally Unique Identifiers (GUIDs) or universally unique identifiers (UUIDs). These are 128-bit numbers used to identify information in computer systems. GUIDs are designed to be unique across both space and time, meaning that the probability of two independently generated GUIDs being the same is extremely low.

The Guidgen utility typically presents a simple user interface where users can click a button to generate a new GUID. The generated identifier is then displayed in a standard format, usually enclosed in curly braces, such as {xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx}, where 'x' represents a hexadecimal digit. Users can then copy this generated GUID to their clipboard for use in various applications and development tasks.

Developers often use Guidgen to generate unique keys for databases, components, objects, or any other item that requires a distinct identifier. The application is commonly found as part of Microsoft's development tools, particularly within the Visual Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE) or as a standalone tool. Its primary function is to simplify the process of obtaining these unique identifiers, saving developers the effort of manually generating or implementing their own GUID generation logic.