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

PROLOG
       This  manual  page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The Linux
       implementation of this interface may differ (consult the  corresponding
       Linux  manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may
       not be implemented on Linux.
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 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       This function may be withdrawn in a future version.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 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 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(3P)