Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!ucsd!celit!billd From: billd@fps.com (Bill Davidson) Newsgroups: news.software.b Subject: Re: Ideas for Message-ID's Message-ID: <16479@celit.fps.com> Date: 22 Mar 91 06:18:46 GMT References: <3427@litchi.bbn.com> Organization: FPS Computing Inc., San Diego CA Lines: 42 In article <3427@litchi.bbn.com> rsalz@bbn.com (Rich Salz) writes: >How about this one > >where > yy Last two digits of the year > ddd The day of the year, 000-365. > ss The current number of seconds, 00-59. > pppp The Process ID (not fixed format). > host The hostname (not fixed format). >For example > 9203212.1856@papaya.bbn.com >This is 27 bytes long. The host-part is invariant, and the unique-part is >only 12 bytes, but it will vary by a couple depending on the pid. > >Obviously, the only time this will have a problem is if the same process >submits two articles within the same second. I don't think that's likely >to happen. The same PID can occur with two different processes during the same day due to turn-over. This is quite common on fast machines that run with dozens of users. Two posts could easily occur during the same second of their given minute (obviously they are probably hours apart). Sure it's unlikely but with as many machines as are on the net do you really want to take the gamble? If enough machines run with this scheme for enough hours, it will break. Maybe something more along the lines of hhmmss. It adds four more chars but still guarantees uniqueness. It also makes the Message-ID hard to predict for sendme message abusers (one of the goals of the Cnews style). Alternatively, the number of seconds in that have occured in that day since midnight could be used. This would only add three more chars since there are only 86400 seconds in a day. You could put it in hex and do the number of seconds since 12am Jan 1 and only add 2 chars. I guess I'm starting to run amuck. Sorry. --Bill -- *ANOTHER* dumb move! -- Dick Spanner, Private Investigator