What's your opinion on using UUIDs as database row identifiers, particularly in web apps?

Question

I\'ve always preferred to use long integers as primary keys in databases, for simplicity and (assumed) speed. But when using a REST or Rails-like URL scheme for object insta

Answer 1

I don't think a GUID gives you many benefits. Users hate long, incomprehensible URLs.

Create a shorter ID that you can map to the URL, or enforce a unique user name convention (http://example.com/user/brianly). The guys at 37Signals would probably mock you for worrying about something like this when it comes to a web app.

Incidentally you can force your database to start creating integer IDs from a base value.