On Fri, 30 Mar 2001, Jim Knoble wrote:
> http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Secure-Programs-HOWTO/avoid-race.html
>
> section 6.8.1.2 "Temporary Files".
Sigh. Maybe I'll have to write my own code after all. Incidentally, the
one use of tmpnam() in Exim appears in code for MBX delivery; that's the
only time Exim needs a temporary file.
Way back in the late 1960's I was using an operating system where you
could make a system call and get a temporary file that didn't record
anything anywhere in the file system - so there was no possibility of
any other process interfering. (I guess in Unix terms it would be like
creating a file with no name and getting back an unlinked file
descriptor). When we moved on to IBM mainframe operating systems, it was
a bit of a shock to discover that this useful feature didn't exist. It's
a pity Unix doesn't have something like it.
--
Philip Hazel University of Cambridge Computing Service,
ph10@??? Cambridge, England. Phone: +44 1223 334714.
