From December 2005
Make a Unique ID in PHP
Use random numbers to create some random characters, and then use the time and a unique id to make a unique id. Similar to the way a GUID is created in Windows.
Results
WD1775965975W69db1717952b2
...And the Source Code:
<?php
// Just a small sample of making a unique id in PHP
// https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.chr.php
// https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.rand.php
// http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.time.php
// http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.uniqid.php
$prefix = 'W'; // a universal prefix prefix
$my_random_id = $prefix;
$my_random_id .= chr(rand(65,90));
$my_random_id .= time();
$my_random_id .= uniqid($prefix);
print $my_random_id;
?>