Re: add mkstemps

[Eric Blake <ebb9 at byu dot net>]

Eric Blake <ebb9 <at> byu.net> writes:

> The ability to have an arbitrary file suffix on a temporary file is quite
> useful for programs that react to a file's extension; in fact, git wants
> to use mk[s]temps when available, even though no standards bodies have
> adopted it yet.  According to google, mkstemps is available on several
> systems (sometimes by the more confusing name mktemps), but there is no
> consistency on whether it should be in <stdlib.h> or <unistd.h>.  I went
> with <stdlib.h>, since that is where POSIX puts mkstemp.  This also fixes
> the documentation (mktemp is NOT in <stdio.h>), but does not move the
> files to a more appropriate subdirectory.
> 
> OK to apply?

Jim Meyering raised a good point[1] - we shouldn't have to repeat the stupidity 
of earlier implementations in using a signed int for a length, when size_t is 
more appropriate.  If enough implementations exist with an appropriate 
parameter type, then if this function is considered for future standardization, 
the early implementers will then have to upgrade to use the saner prototype.

So, do we want to provide:

int mkstemps (char *, size_t)

instead of following BSD and Solaris tradition?

[1] http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.lib.gnulib.bugs/17994/focus=17995

-- 
Eric Blake