explain_tmpnam_or_die(3) Library Functions Manual explain_tmpnam_or_die(3)NAME
explain_tmpnam_or_die - create a name for a temporary file and report errors
SYNOPSIS
#include <libexplain/tmpnam.h>
char *explain_tmpnam_or_die(char *pathname);
char *explain_tmpnam_on_error(char *pathname);
DESCRIPTION
The explain_tmpnam_or_die function is used to call the tmpnam(3) system call. On failure an explanation will be printed to stderr, obtained
from the explain_tmpnam(3) function, and then the process terminates by calling exit(EXIT_FAILURE).
The explain_tmpnam_on_error function is used to call the tmpnam(3) system call. On failure an explanation will be printed to stderr,
obtained from the explain_tmpnam(3) function, but still returns to the caller.
pathname
The pathname, exactly as to be passed to the tmpnam(3) system call.
RETURN VALUE
The explain_tmpnam_or_die function only returns on success, see tmpnam(3) for more information. On failure, prints an explanation and
exits, it does not return.
The explain_tmpnam_on_error function always returns the value return by the wrapped tmpnam(3) system call.
EXAMPLE
The explain_tmpnam_or_die function is intended to be used in a fashion similar to the following example:
char *result = explain_tmpnam_or_die(pathname);
SEE ALSO tmpnam(3)
create a name for a temporary file
explain_tmpnam(3)
explain tmpnam(3) errors
exit(2) terminate the calling process
COPYRIGHT
libexplain version 0.52
Copyright (C) 2010 Peter Miller
explain_tmpnam_or_die(3)
Check Out this Related Man Page
TMPNAM(3) Linux Programmer's Manual TMPNAM(3)NAME
tmpnam, tmpnam_r - create a name for a temporary file
SYNOPSIS
#include <stdio.h>
char *tmpnam(char *s);
DESCRIPTION
The tmpnam() function returns a pointer to a string that is a valid filename, and such that a file with this name did not exist at some
point in time, so that naive programmers may think it a suitable name for a temporary file. If the argument s is NULL this name is gener-
ated in an internal static buffer and may be overwritten by the next call to tmpnam(). If s is not NULL, the name is copied to the charac-
ter array (of length at least L_tmpnam) pointed to by s and the value s is returned in case of success.
The pathname that is created, has a directory prefix P_tmpdir. (Both L_tmpnam and P_tmpdir are defined in <stdio.h>, just like the TMP_MAX
mentioned below.)
RETURN VALUE
The tmpnam() function returns a pointer to a unique temporary filename, or NULL if a unique name cannot be generated.
ERRORS
No errors are defined.
CONFORMING TO
SVr4, 4.3BSD, C89, C99, POSIX.1-2001. POSIX.1-2008 marks tmpnam() as obsolete.
NOTES
The tmpnam() function generates a different string each time it is called, up to TMP_MAX times. If it is called more than TMP_MAX times,
the behavior is implementation defined.
Although tmpnam() generates names that are difficult to guess, it is nevertheless possible that between the time that tmpnam() returns a
pathname, and the time that the program opens it, another program might create that pathname using open(2), or create it as a symbolic
link. This can lead to security holes. To avoid such possibilities, use the open(2) O_EXCL flag to open the pathname. Or better yet, use
mkstemp(3) or tmpfile(3).
Portable applications that use threads cannot call tmpnam() with a NULL argument if either _POSIX_THREADS or _POSIX_THREAD_SAFE_FUNCTIONS
is defined.
A POSIX draft proposed to use a function tmpnam_r() defined by
char *
tmpnam_r(char *s)
{
return s ? tmpnam(s) : NULL;
}
apparently as a warning not to use NULL. A few systems implement it. To get a glibc prototype for this function from <stdio.h>, define
_SVID_SOURCE or _BSD_SOURCE (before including any header file).
BUGS
Never use this function. Use mkstemp(3) or tmpfile(3) instead.
SEE ALSO mkstemp(3), mktemp(3), tempnam(3), tmpfile(3)COLOPHON
This page is part of release 3.44 of the Linux man-pages project. A description of the project, and information about reporting bugs, can
be found at http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.
2010-09-10 TMPNAM(3)