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Date:      Tue, 16 May 2000 11:46:25 -0600
From:      Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com>
To:        Alfred Perlstein <bright@wintelcom.net>
Cc:        Kris Kennaway <kris@FreeBSD.ORG>, Tim Vanderhoek <vanderh@ecf.utoronto.ca>, James Howard <howardjp@wam.umd.edu>, freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: mktemp() vs. mkstemp()
Message-ID:  <39218971.AE6779B5@softweyr.com>
References:  <Pine.BSF.4.21.0005141952440.20005-100000@freefall.freebsd.org> <39204472.706CB1D2@softweyr.com> <20000515123256.C249@fw.wintelcom.net>

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Alfred Perlstein wrote:
> 
> * Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com> [000515 12:11] wrote:
> > Kris Kennaway wrote:
> > >
> > > On Sun, 14 May 2000, Tim Vanderhoek wrote:
> > >
> > > > It's certainly not like it would be the first non-portable function
> > > > we've added.  Where adding functions to libraries encourages better
> > > > coding practices, I'm (often) in favour of it, especially if it
> > > > encourages more secure coding practices.  Ultimately everyone
> > > > benefits, and the pain is short-term.
> > >
> > > True, but I'd venture that in most of those cases they did something a
> > > little less trivial than one line of code.
> >
> > We could simply redefine mktemp to not be such a security hole.  Do
> > common programs that use mktemp depend on side effects?
> 
> The side effect they depend on is that the char * returned is unique,
> but since no file was created it's not garanteed so.  You can't fix
> it.

Drat, that's right.  Anyone wanna pollute the kernel and filesystem
layers with a "reserve this filename" function?  That sounds fugly,
doesn't it?

-- 
            "Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"

Wes Peters                                                         Softweyr LLC
wes@softweyr.com                                           http://softweyr.com/


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