Siticone IdGen

The SiticoneIdGen component is a high-performance, thread-safe non-visual component used for generating infinite unique identifiers. It supports multiple generation strategies—including Twitter Snowflake (Distributed), Cryptographic Randomness, UUIDv1, and ULID—making it suitable for database primary keys, session tokens, license keys, and distributed system IDs.

Configuration Properties

Properties that define the format and structure of the generated IDs.

Property	Type	Description & Usage Example
`Strategy`	IdGenerationStrategy	idGen.Strategy = IdGenerationStrategy.Distributed; The algorithm used to generate IDs. Options: `Distributed` (Snowflake), `CryptoRandom`, `UuidV1`, `Ulid`.
`Length`	int	idGen.Length = 32; The total number of characters in the generated ID (excluding prefixes/suffixes). Must be at least 16.
`Prefix`	string	idGen.Prefix = "ORD-"; A string prepended to the generated ID. Useful for identifying ID types (e.g., 'USR-', 'INV-').
`Suffix`	string	idGen.Suffix = "-X"; A string appended to the end of the generated ID.
`BatchSize`	int	idGen.BatchSize = 100; Configures the default size for batch generation operations.

Formatting & Character Set

Control the visual presentation and allowed characters for the IDs.

Property	Type	Description
`UseUpperCase`	bool	Converts the final output to uppercase (default: `true`).
`IncludeDashes`	bool	Inserts hyphens at regular intervals to improve readability.
`DashInterval`	int	Defines the number of characters between dashes (default: 4).
`IncludeNumbers`	bool	Includes digits (0-9) in the allowed character set.
`IncludeSpecialChars`	bool	Includes special characters (!@#$%) in the set. Use with caution for URLs.
`CustomCharacterSet`	string	Overrides all other settings to use strictly this set of characters (e.g., "01" for binary).
`ProhibitedCharacters`	string	Comma-separated list of characters to exclude (e.g., "I,O,1,0" to avoid confusion).

Distributed (Snowflake) Settings

These properties are specifically used when Strategy is set to Distributed. They ensure uniqueness across different machines/nodes.

Property	Type	Description
`NodeId`	int	Unique ID (0-1023) representing the machine generating the ID.
`DatacenterId`	int	Unique ID (0-1023) representing the physical datacenter or region.
`Epoch`	DateTime	The start date for timestamp calculation. Defaults to Jan 1, 2024.
`Namespace`	string	A string hashed into the ID to prevent collisions between different entity types.
`ShardId`	int	Optional logical shard identifier mixed into the Node bits.

Public Methods

GenerateId()

// Generates a single unique identifier based on current configuration.
// Thread-safe and blocking.
string newId = siticoneIdGen1.GenerateId();

GenerateIdAsync()

// Generates a unique identifier asynchronously.
// Recommended for batch operations to prevent UI freezing.
string newId = await siticoneIdGen1.GenerateIdAsync();

ValidateId(string id)

// Checks if a string conforms to the current format configuration
// (Length, Prefix, Suffix, Allowed Characters).
bool isValid = siticoneIdGen1.ValidateId("USR-1234-ABCD");

ParseId(string id)

// Extracts metadata (Timestamp, NodeId) from a generated ID.
// Only works for time-based strategies (Distributed, UuidV1, Ulid).
IdMetadata meta = siticoneIdGen1.ParseId(someId);
DateTime createdTime = meta.Timestamp;

Events

IdGenerated

// Occurs immediately after a new ID is successfully generated.
siticoneIdGen1.IdGenerated += (sender, e) => 
{
                Console.WriteLine($"New ID Created: {e.GeneratedId}");
};

Enumerations

IdGenerationStrategy Enum

public enum IdGenerationStrategy
{
                // Twitter Snowflake algorithm. Time-ordered, distributed, high performance.
    Distributed,

                // Cryptographically secure random numbers. Best for security tokens.
    CryptoRandom,

                // Standard UUID Version 1 (Time-based).
    UuidV1,

                // Universally Unique Lexicographically Sortable Identifier.
    Ulid
}

Usage Examples

Example 1: Distributed (Snowflake) ID Generation

Best for database primary keys in distributed systems. IDs are roughly time-ordered and contain information about which machine generated them.

C# - Distributed Setup

private void SetupDistributedGen()
{
                // Configure for Snowflake algorithm
    siticoneIdGen1.Strategy = IdGenerationStrategy.Distributed;
    
                // Identify this machine/process
    siticoneIdGen1.NodeId = 1;        // Machine 1
    siticoneIdGen1.DatacenterId = 1;  // Region 1
    
                // Optional: Set a custom epoch (e.g., app launch date)
    siticoneIdGen1.Epoch = new DateTime(2023, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, DateTimeKind.Utc);
    
                // Generate
                string dbKey = siticoneIdGen1.GenerateId();
    
                // Extract info later
                IdMetadata meta = siticoneIdGen1.ParseId(dbKey);
                Console.WriteLine($"Created at: {meta.Timestamp} by Node {meta.NodeId}");
}

Example 2: Secure License Key Generation

Generates a readable, dashed, alphanumeric license key using cryptographic randomness.

C# - License Key

private string GenerateLicenseKey()
{
    siticoneIdGen1.Strategy = IdGenerationStrategy.CryptoRandom;
    siticoneIdGen1.Length = 20;
    
                // Format: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
    siticoneIdGen1.IncludeDashes = true;
    siticoneIdGen1.DashInterval = 4;
    siticoneIdGen1.UseUpperCase = true;
    
                // Ensure readable characters (exclude 0, O, 1, I)
    siticoneIdGen1.CustomCharacterSet = "ABCDEFGHJKLMNPQRSTUVWXYZ23456789";
    
                return siticoneIdGen1.GenerateId();
}

Example 3: Async Batch Generation

Efficiently generates a large batch of IDs without blocking the UI thread.

C# - Async Batch

private async void BtnGenerateBatch_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    siticoneIdGen1.Strategy = IdGenerationStrategy.Ulid;
                List<string> ids = new List<string>();
    
    btnGenerate.Enabled = false;
    
                await Task.Run(() => 
    {
                for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++)
        {
                // Thread-safe call
            ids.Add(siticoneIdGen1.GenerateId());
        }
    });
    
    listBoxResults.DataSource = ids;
    btnGenerate.Enabled = true;
}

Example 4: Custom Prefix/Suffix for Invoices

Using simple prefixes to categorize IDs.

C# - Invoice ID

public string CreateInvoiceId()
{
                // Result: INV-2024-X9Z1-A2B3
    siticoneIdGen1.Strategy = IdGenerationStrategy.CryptoRandom;
    siticoneIdGen1.Length = 12; 
    siticoneIdGen1.Prefix = "INV-" + DateTime.Now.Year + "-";
    siticoneIdGen1.IncludeDashes = true;
    
                return siticoneIdGen1.GenerateId();
}