UUID Validator

How do we validate UUID?

Think of a UUID as a special kind of code that needs to follow certain rules to be considered valid.

Checking the Shape

Imagine a UUID as a puzzle that needs to fit exactly into a specific shape. This shape is a series of numbers and letters separated by dashes, like this: xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx. Each x can be any number from 0 to 9 or a letter from a to f.

Version and Variant:

1. Version: This part of the UUID tells us how it was made. There are different methods to create a UUID, and the version number (a number from 1 to 5) gives us this information.
2. Variant: This part tells us the specific layout or format the UUID should follow. Most of the time, we want it to + match a common layout called RFC 4122.

Right Characters

Every character in the UUID (except for the dashes) should be a number (0-9) or a letter from a to f. This is because UUIDs are written in hexadecimal, which is a way of representing numbers.

Just the Right Length

A valid UUID should always be 36 characters long, counting the dashes.

Special UUIDs

Sometimes you might see a UUID that is all zeros. This is a special case and is usually allowed.

Easy Examples

Good UUID: 123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000 - This one follows all the rules. Bad UUID (too short): 123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-42661417400 - Oops, it's missing some characters. Bad UUID (wrong letter): 123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-42661417400z - There's no 'z' in hexadecimal.