py-ulid 1.0.1

Python library that provides an implementation of the ULID Specification

py-ulid - A ULID Implementation in Python

The py-ulid library is a minimal and self-contained implementation of the ULID (Universally Unique Lexicographically Sortable Identifier) specification in Python. For more information, please refer to the official specification.

Installation

You can install the py-ulid library from PyPi

pip install py-ulid

The py-ulid library can be used in any version of python >= 3.5 and does not require any additional packages or modules.

How to use

THe py-ulid library can be integrated into any of your existing python programs to provide generate, encode and decode ULIDs.

An example of a simple use case is shown below

from ulid import ULID

def main():

  # Create an ULID object
  ulid = ULID()

  # Generate a ULID
  value = ulid.generate()

  print(value)

if __name__ == '__main__':
  main()

Running that sample program would yield an output as follows

$ python sample_ulid.py

01BX5ZZKBKACTAV9WEVGEMMVRZ

Properties of an ULID

The proposed ULID spechas the following properties that give it an advantage over UUIDs

• 128-bit compatibility with UUID
• 1.21e+24 unique ULIDs per millisecond
• Lexicographically sortable!
• Canonically encoded as a 26 character string, as opposed to the 36 character UUID
• Uses Crockford's base32 for better efficiency and readability (5 bits per character)
• Case insensitive
• No special characters (URL safe)
• Monotonic sort order (correctly detects and handles the same millisecond)

Prior Art

Partly inspired by:

• Instagram
• Firebase