This is a weakness in witango, but easily shored. Witango lacks the ability to 
generate a GUID, but would probably be an easy feature to add, since I think it 
can be done by the host OS.

There are a few ways to shore this in witango...

1. If windows witango, find an old but reliable tool, called GUIDMKR. Its a com 
object I have used for YEARS with witango. Let me know if you need code.

2. In mac or linux, use a command line, this can be done in pearl.

You could then have code in witango turn that into your GUID into a BYTE array, 
so it looks like a code, like a YOUTUBE id, much shorter.

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2983065/guid-to-bytearray

I worked on this for many hours many moons ago. There was always dupes, the 
better my algorithm got, the less dupes, but to be safe, start with a TRUE UUID 
or GUID generator. GUIDMKR has always served me well on windows/witango.

--

Robert Garcia
President - BigHead Technology
VP Application Development - eventpix.com
15520 Coutelenc Rd
Magalia, Ca 95954
ph: 530.645.4040 x222 fax: 530.645.4040
[email protected] - [email protected]
http://bighead.net/ - http://eventpix.com/

On Oct 14, 2010, at 12:18 PM, Roland Dumas wrote:

> I need to stare at this code a bit more. I made it witango 5 compatible 
> (while object and instead of @sleep, I just threw away output based on the 
> same timestamp)
> results
>
> code: NZVWIXXX timestamp: 1287058511
> code: LURAVSXX timestamp: 1287058512
> code: LURAVSXX timestamp: 1287058513
> code: NZVWIXXX timestamp: 1287058514
> code: ZLNKFQXX timestamp: 1287058515
> code: BNCILFXX timestamp: 1287058516
> code: KRCCOCXX timestamp: 1287058517
> code: NZVWIXXX timestamp: 1287058518
> code: BNCILFXX timestamp: 1287058519
> code: BNCILFXX timestamp: 1287058520
> code: NZVWIYXX timestamp: 1287058521
> code: KRCCOCXX timestamp: 1287058522
>
> Interesting, don't you think?
> In a long sequence, the repeats are frequent and and trailing Xs...
>
> Thanks for the start.
>
>
> On Oct 14, 2010, at 10:53 AM, Robert Shubert wrote:
>
>> Try this out:
>>
>> <@! start with epoch>
>> <@ASSIGN secs <@TSTOSECS <@CURRENTTIMESTAMP>>>
>>
>> <@! add salt>
>> <@ASSIGN secs "<@RANDOM low=1 high=9>@@secs<@RANDOM low=1 high=9>">
>>
>> <@! convert to base 26>
>> <@WHILE expr="@@secs > 26">
>>
>> <@! shift to ascii for capitals 65-90 convert to char and build code>
>> <@IF "<@CURROW>%2 = 0">
>>      <@ASSIGN code '<@CHAR <@CALC "abs(@@secs % 26) + 65">>@@code'>
>> <@ELSE>
>>      <@ASSIGN code '@@code<@CHAR <@CALC "abs(@@secs % 26) + 65">>'>
>> </@IF>
>>
>> <@! shift place for base conversion>
>> <@ASSIGN secs <@CALC "@@secs / 26" precision=0>>
>>
>> </@WHILE>
>>
>> Final Code: @@code
>>
>> DISCLAIMER: It is possible to create the same code if this routine is run 
>> multiple times in the same second. Add a <@SLEEP 1000> to prevent this. 
>> Also, there is an abs() in there because doing modulo on large values 
>> produces a negative value. This is incorrect behavior on Witango's part and 
>> something that I'll need to fix in the server. I do not think it produces a 
>> collision problem in this routine, but it may. It is likely tied to small 
>> floating point variable used in the routine. Oh, and there is also a 
>> rounding error that I didn't work out, but again, it only changed some shift 
>> points (26^1 place increases at unit=13 rather than unit=0). This can 
>> removed by floor()ing the base conversion shift in the final @CALC. Again, I 
>> do not believe that this causes a collision situation. Also, this routine 
>> can occasionally create a 7 character code. You may need to check for and 
>> ignore these if you want them all to 8 characters (This may be able to be 
>> eliminated by increasing the LOW value in the first @RANDOM) Lastly, I don't 
>> guarantee this routine. I just whipped it up as a mental exercise, so you 
>> may want to test it out some (see if you get a collision over a few million 
>> iterations), or show it to someone who is good with algorithms or 
>> cryptography.
>>
>> Robert
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Roland Dumas [mailto:[email protected]]
>> Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2010 11:42 AM
>> To: [email protected]
>> Subject: Witango-Talk: generating unique codes
>>
>>
>> looking for method to create unique and non-obvious n-digit codes to be used 
>> as discount codes.
>> Should be short enough to use as consumer codes (8 digit?), and probably be 
>> something simply to enter, such as an all caps, and not have an easily 
>> discoverable pattern.
>>
>> I want to generate unique codes and not have to check the history to see if 
>> a code has been used before.
>>
>> Suggestions?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
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