itemid

An itemid is a label used to uniquely identify a specific item within a dataset, database, API, or software system. It acts as a reference key that enables data retrieval, updates, and relationship linking across related records. The term is common across domains such as inventory management, content catalogs, and game development, where each item in a collection must be distinguished from others.

In database design, itemid often serves as the primary key for an items table. It enables efficient lookups and joins with related tables, such as orders, categories, or stock levels. In APIs and web services, itemid is frequently used as a resource identifier in URLs or query parameters (for example, retrieving an item by its itemid). In software applications and games, itemid maps to a record in a data table or file that stores item properties like name, description, price, attributes, and metadata.

Common data types for itemid include integers (often auto-incremented) and universally unique identifiers (UUIDs or GUIDs). Some systems use strings or composite keys, especially when integrating with external data sources. Design considerations emphasize uniqueness within scope, immutability or stability of the identifier, and referential integrity—changing an itemid after creation can break connections to related records.

Best practices include using surrogate keys (such as auto-incremented integers or UUIDs) for primary keys to allow independent evolution of identifiers, and ensuring proper indexing for fast lookups. Itemids should be documented to clarify scope, format, and lifecycle across the system.