Change uuid to integer id in mongodb - sails.js - mongodb

Question

so I have switched the sails.js database from localdisk to mongodb server and all my ids changed to a uuid id.i found that normal id is much easier and cleaner. how can i change my ids to be integer ids again?
btw what are the benefits of using uuid? and how can i make an update request with that long id?
{
"name": "Matan",
"id": "544a7968101ca2903974cdc1",
"createdAt": "2014-10-24T16:08:08.052Z",
"updatedAt": "2014-10-24T16:08:08.052Z"
}

Answer 1

It's the "normal" way that MongoDB creates ids, is a combination of timestamp, machine identifier, process id and random values.
From MongoDB site: "Documents stored in a collection require a unique _id field that acts as a primary key. Because ObjectIds are small, most likely unique, and fast to generate"
It's not recommended to change the ids because is your primary key and maybe some other data is related to them.
If you want to have ids like 1,2,3,4,5... you have to setup your own generation and save the id when you create the model:
User.create({_id: 1, name: 'John'});
You can update the same way you do with "short" ids, through the blueprint api:
PUT /user/544a7968101ca2903974cdc1
And submit new the data with a form or via ajax.
Update a value on existing model example:
var postId;
// create a blog post for example
$.ajax({
url: '/post',
method: 'POST', // create a new entry in the db
data: {
title: 'Untitled Post',
text: 'Example blog post'
},
success: function(data){
// data = {id: 'randomGeneratedId', title: 'Untitled Post', text: 'Example blog post'}
postId = data.id;
}
});
// later...
$.ajax({
url: '/post/' + postId,
method: 'PUT', // update this post in the db
data: {
image: 'path/to/image.jpg'
},
success: function(data){
// data = {id: 'randomGeneratedId', image: 'path/to/image.jpg', title: 'Untitled Post', text: 'Example blog post'}
}
});