Unique, non-changing node identifier for AVM nodes?

[marcus]

Is there a non-changing identifier for metadata nodes in the AVM at all? From what I've seen, the node-dbid changes whenever the node is modified in a user sandbox and committed back (understandable due to the layering etc), and the nodeRef changes whenever the content moves in the sandbox folder structure. What I'm after is something like the uuid, but that doesn't seem to be set for AVM nodes. Should I just roll my own and store it in the uuid property?

[pmonks]

There is not, no, since the concept of "unique identity" is hard to define in the AVM.  eg. if an asset has numerous versions, do each of the versions get their own unique identifier?  What if a user has edited the asset in their user sandbox, but it hasn't been promoted to staging yet?  Do the two "currently valid" versions of the asset (the one in the staging sandbox and the one in the user sandbox) have the same identifier, or different identifiers?  If an external process requests an asset by that unique identifier, which one is supposed to be returned?  etc. etc.

That said this is something that has been raised as an enhancement request (https://issues.alfresco.com/jira/browse/ALFCOM-280), and if we can resolve what unique identity means in the AVM in a way that makes sense for most (ideally all) cases, then it will be implemented.  I'd encourage you to vote and/or comment on this ticket if this is something you feel is important.

Cheers,
Peter