TMPNAM(3C)

NAME
tmpnam - create a name for a temporary file

SYNOPSIS
#include <stdio.h>

char *tmpnam(s)
char *s;

DESCRIPTION
This routine is included for System V compatibility.

Tmpnam generates a file name that can safely be used for a temprary file. If (int)s is zero, tmpnam leaves its result in an internal static area and returns a pointer to that area. The next call to tmpnam will destroy the contents of the area. If (int)s is nonzero, s is assumed to be the address of an array of at least L_tmpnam bytes; tmpnam places its result in that array and returns s as its value.

Tmpnam generates a different file name each time it is called.

Files created using tmpnam and either fopen or creat are only temporary in the sense that they reside in a directory intended for temporary use, and their names are unique. It is the user's responsibility to use unlink(2) to remove the file when its use is ended.

SEE ALSO
creat(2), unlink(2), mktemp(3), fopen(3S)

BUGS
If called more than 17,576 times in a single process, tmpnam will start recycling previously used names.

Between the time a file name is created and the file is opened, it is possible for some other process to create a file with the same name. This can never happen if that other process is using tmpnam or mktemp, and the file names are chosen so as to render duplication by other means unlikely.