Talk:Unique identifier

Untited
Are globally unique identifiers really possible?
 * You mean GUIDs? Possible in the sense they are unique? 118.209.200.11 (talk) 10:51, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

Merger proposal
User:Tijfo098 did not state any reasoning for making the merge from Identification (information) to Unique identifier. I propose not to make the merge because identification information is not always unique. Captpossum (talk) 15:26, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

DOI
How is it that the digital object identifier (DOI) scheme is not mentioned here? WikiDan61 ChatMe!ReadMe!! 13:16, 24 August 2016 (UTC)

Science
English Deviprkash (talk) 16:43, 3 July 2017 (UTC)

Science Deviprkash (talk) 16:43, 3 July 2017 (UTC)

Merging in progress from Unique Identification Number
I have been reviewing the article Unique Identification Number and cannot see a reason why it should exist on its own. Despite what the page says, it does not appear to be distinct from a "unique identifier" but it seems to be more of a specific type of unique identifier. There are some comments about U.S. government definitions of the term that could be useful to mention in this article, but there is clear and significant overlap. The UI article already mentions National identification numbers as a type of "unique identifier" but the UIN page tries to say that these are UINs and not UIs. I'm going to immediately redirect the UIN page to this UI page in the interest of time as it seems rather obvious to me that the pages have too much overlap (per WP:MERGEINIT / WP:BOLD). The existing content of the UIN page will be placed below as a triage area per the NPP flowchart. I will be marking the UIN page as reviewed. Paradox society  04:19, 9 May 2020 (UTC)

Old content from Unique Identification Number
A Unique Identification Number (UIN) is distinct from a Unique identifier (UI) or a Unique Item Identifier (UII).

A UIN is a number that identifies a person. A UI is the equivalent of a serial number. A UII is a one-of-a-kind, globally recognizable serial number such as a vehicle identification number (VIN).

The UIN is also distinct from the Unique Identification (UID) nomenclature system as it relates to the Item Unique Identification (IUID) equipment control system.

The formal definitions of the UI, UII, UID and IUID are drawn from the Defense Pricing and Contracting (DPC) arm of the United States Department of Defense (DoD).

These particular terms, in this context, have nothing to do with computer science. Rather, they are standards for serializing mass produced items for tracking purposes.

Unique Identification Number (UIN) Equivalents
As mentioned above, a Unique Identification Number (UIN) is a number tied to an individual person. Many countries have official identity documents with a corresponding number. A passport also contains a UIN.

A driver's license (DL) number, a Social Security card (SS) number and a motor vehicle registration number are also forms of a UIN.

The tags used by supermarkets to give customers a small discount are also a form of UIN that ties the customer to the items purchased.