NAME
tempfile - create a temporary file in a safe manner
SYNOPSIS
tempfile [-d DIR] [-p STRING] [-s STRING] [-m MODE] [-n FILE]
[--directory=DIR] [--prefix=STRING] [--suffix=STRING] [--mode=MODE]
[--name=FILE] [--help] [--version]
DESCRIPTION
tempfile creates a temporary file in a safe manner. It uses tempnam(3)
to choose the name and opens it with O_RDWR | O_CREAT | O_EXCL. The
filename is printed on standard output. See tempnam(3) for the actual
steps involved in directory selection.
The directory in which to create the file might be searched for in this
order (but refer to tempnam(3) for authoritative answers):
a) In case the environment variable TMPDIR exists and contains the name
of an appropriate directory, that is used.
b) Otherwise, if the --directory argument is specified and appropriate,
it is used.
c) Otherwise, P_tmpdir (as defined in <stdio.h>) is used when
appropriate.
d) Finally an implementation-defined directory (/tmp) may be used.
OPTIONS
-d, --directory DIR
Place the file in DIR.
-p, --prefix STRING
Use up to five letters of STRING to generate the name.
-s, --suffix STRING
Generate the file with STRING as the suffix.
-m, --mode MODE
Open the file with MODE instead of 0600.
-n, --name FILE
Use FILE for the name instead of tempnam(3). The options -d,
-p, and -s are ignored if this option is given.
--help Print a usage message on standard output and exit successfully.
--version
Print version information on standard output and exit
successfully.
RETURN VALUES
An exit status of 0 means the temporary file was created successfully.
Any other exit status indicates an error.
BUGS
Exclusive creation is not guaranteed when creating files on NFS
partitions.
EXAMPLE
#!/bin/sh
#[...]
t=$(tempfile) || exit
trap "rm -f -- â$tâ" EXIT
#[...]
rm -f -- "$t"
trap - EXIT
exit
SEE ALSO
tempnam(3), mktemp(1)