mktemp(1) [posix man page]

MKTEMP(P)						     POSIX Programmer's Manual							 MKTEMP(P)

NAME

       mktemp - make a unique filename (LEGACY)

SYNOPSIS

       #include <stdlib.h>

       char *mktemp(char *template);

DESCRIPTION

       The  mktemp() function shall replace the contents of the string pointed to by template by a unique filename and return template. The appli-
       cation shall initialize template to be a filename with six trailing 'X' s; mktemp() shall replace each 'X' with	a  single  byte  character
       from the portable filename character set.

RETURN VALUE

       The mktemp() function shall return the pointer template.  If a unique name cannot be created, template shall point to a null string.

ERRORS

       No errors are defined.

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES

   Generating a Filename
       The  following example replaces the contents of the "template" string with a 10-character filename beginning with the characters "file" and
       returns a pointer to the "template" string that contains the new filename.

	      #include <stdlib.h>
	      ...
	      char *template = "/tmp/fileXXXXXX";
	      char *ptr;

	      ptr = mktemp(template);

APPLICATION USAGE

       Between the time a pathname is created and the file opened, it is possible for some other process to create a file with the same name.  The
       mkstemp() function avoids this problem and is preferred over this function.

RATIONALE

       None.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

       This function may be withdrawn in a future version.

SEE ALSO

       mkstemp() , tmpfile() , tmpnam() , the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, <stdlib.h>

COPYRIGHT

       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technol-
       ogy -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of
       Electrical  and	Electronics  Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE
       and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can  be  obtained
       online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

IEEE
/The Open Group						       2003								 MKTEMP(P)

MKSTEMP(3P)						     POSIX Programmer's Manual						       MKSTEMP(3P)

PROLOG

       This  manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the correspond-
       ing Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.

NAME

       mkstemp - make a unique filename

SYNOPSIS

       #include <stdlib.h>

       int mkstemp(char *template);

DESCRIPTION

       The mkstemp() function shall replace the contents of the string pointed to by template by a unique filename, and return a  file	descriptor
       for  the file open for reading and writing.  The function thus prevents any possible race condition between testing whether the file exists
       and opening it for use. The string in template should look like a filename with six trailing 'X' s; mkstemp()  replaces	each  'X'  with  a
       character  from	the portable filename character set. The characters are chosen such that the resulting name does not duplicate the name of
       an existing file at the time of a call to mkstemp().

RETURN VALUE

       Upon successful completion, mkstemp() shall return an open file descriptor. Otherwise, -1 shall be returned if no suitable  file  could	be
       created.

ERRORS

       No errors are defined.

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES

   Generating a Filename
       The following example creates a file with a 10-character name beginning with the characters "file" and opens the file for reading and writ-
       ing. The value returned as the value of fd is a file descriptor that identifies the file.

	      #include <stdlib.h>
	      ...
	      char template[] = "/tmp/fileXXXXXX";
	      int fd;

	      fd = mkstemp(template);

APPLICATION USAGE

       It is possible to run out of letters.

       The mkstemp() function need not check to determine whether the filename part of template exceeds the maximum allowable filename length.

RATIONALE

       None.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

       None.

SEE ALSO

       getpid(), open(), tmpfile(), tmpnam(), the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, <stdlib.h>

COPYRIGHT

       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technol-
       ogy -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of
       Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and  the  original  IEEE
       and  The  Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained
       online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

IEEE
/The Open Group						       2003							       MKSTEMP(3P)