mktemp(1)
NAME
mktemp − make a name for a temporary file
SYNOPSIS
mktemp [-c] [-d directory_name] [-p prefix]
DESCRIPTION
mktemp makes a name that is suitable for use as the pathname of a temporary file, and writes that name to the standard output. The name is chosen such that it does not duplicate the name of an existing file. If the -c option is specified, a zero-length file is created with the generated name.
The name generated by mktemp is the concatenation of a directory name, a slash (/), the value of the LOGNAME environment variable truncated to {NAME_MAX} − 6 characters, and the process ID of the invoking process.
The directory name is chosen as follows:
1. If the -d option is specified, directory_name is used.
2. Otherwise, if the TMPDIR environment variable is set and a string that would yield a unique name can be obtained by using the value of that variable as a directory name, this value is used.
3. Otherwise, if a string that would yield a unique name can be obtained using /tmp as the directory, /tmp is used.
4. Otherwise, . (current directory) is used.
If the -p option is specified, prefix is used instead of the value of the LOGNAME environment variable for name generation.
RETURN VALUE
mktemp returns zero on successful completion and non-zero if syntax, file access, or file creation errors were encountered or a unique pathname could not be generated.
SEE ALSO
Hewlett-Packard Company — HP-UX Release 9.03: April 1994