MKTEMP(P) POSIX Programmer's Manual MKTEMP(P)NAMEmktemp - 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 applica‐
tion 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 file‐
name.
#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 pos‐
sible for some other process to create a file with the same name. The
mkstemp() function avoids this problem and is preferred over this func‐
tion.
RATIONALE
None.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
This function may be withdrawn in a future version.
SEE ALSOmkstemp() , 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 Technology
-- 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)
