That’s all. I just found this in a random script. Generates a random UUID every time it’s called. I didn’t know.
Of course I can also use uuidgen or pipe /dev/(u)random into something to get a random alphanumeric string - but this is built right into the kernel!
In /proc/sys/kernel/random/, there’s also boot_id which seems to do the same, and some tweakable parameters.
❤️🐧
Yeah but please don’t actually use this. Use a proper UUID library that works cross-platform and lets you choose the UUID type and can be seeded etc.