how can i convert a string(i.e. email address) to unique integers, to use them as an ID.
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how can i convert a string(i.e. email address) to unique integers, to use them as an ID.
The amount of information a PHP integer may store is limited. The amount of information you can store in a string is not (at least if the string isn’t unreasonably long.)
Thus you would need to compress your arbitrary-length string to an non-arbitrary-length integer. This is impossible without data loss.
You may use a hashing algorithm, but hashing algorithms may always have collisions. Especially if you want to hash a string to an integer the collision probability is pretty high – integers can store only very little data.
Thus you shall either stick with the email or use an auto incrementing integer field.