was updating some of my scripts yesterday... noticed a lack of a
variable for TEMP or TMP or tmp or temp... I know I can use /tmp/ but in
windows I've gotten used to using %temp% being "just there" as an
envvar... what do you guys do? Assume /tmp/ is there? create a ~/tmp/
as needed?

Ray

(who likes %TEMP% in windows especially since they went to c:\documents
and settings\username\blah\blah\blah\temp....)

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ray wrote:
> was updating some of my scripts yesterday... noticed a lack of a
> variable for TEMP or TMP or tmp or temp... I know I can use /tmp/ but in
> windows I've gotten used to using %temp% being "just there" as an
> envvar... what do you guys do? Assume /tmp/ is there? create a ~/tmp/
> as needed?

Well, first of all, /tmp is /required/ to be there. It's job as a
directory is to be the host to temporary files from any user process.
/tmp exists, or your system is as broken as WinXP without a %SYSTEM%
directory. The tools and functions that manipulate temporary files do so
in /tmp (but can be overridden to do so in some other directory).

Secondly, while the environment variable $TMP or $TEMP isn't standard,
there's nothing stopping you from setting up one:
echo 'export TMP=/tmp' >>/etc/profile
echo 'export TEMP=/tmp' >>/etc/profile
or
echo 'export TMP=/tmp' >>~/.profile
echo 'export TEMP=/tmp' >>~/.profile

HTH
- --

Lew Pitcher, IT Specialist, Enterprise Data Systems
Enterprise Technology Solutions, TD Bank Financial Group

(Opinions expressed here are my own, not my employer's)
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Lew Pitcher wrote:
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>
> ray wrote:
>
>>was updating some of my scripts yesterday... noticed a lack of a
>>variable for TEMP or TMP or tmp or temp... I know I can use /tmp/ but in
>>windows I've gotten used to using %temp% being "just there" as an
>>envvar... what do you guys do? Assume /tmp/ is there? create a ~/tmp/
>>as needed?
>
>
> Well, first of all, /tmp is /required/ to be there. It's job as a
> directory is to be the host to temporary files from any user process.
> /tmp exists, or your system is as broken as WinXP without a %SYSTEM%
> directory. The tools and functions that manipulate temporary files do so
> in /tmp (but can be overridden to do so in some other directory).
>

I know I can create an envvar, I guess I was just surprised to not find
it already defined. How do you know that /tmp is "required"? Not
really trying to argue, but does the kernel source spell out /tmp as a
requirement? Do programs just assume it's there and properly mounted?

oh, and it's %systemroot% - there's no %system% var.

ray <nospam@example.com> wrote:
> How do you know that /tmp is "required"? Not
> really trying to argue, but does the kernel source spell out /tmp as a
> requirement? Do programs just assume it's there and properly mounted?

The POSIX standard requires that there is a /tmp directory.
You may rely on the existence of that directory.

Yours,
Laurenz Albe

Laurenz Albe <albe@culturallnospam.com> wrote:
>> requirement? Do programs just assume it's there and properly mounted?
>
> The POSIX standard requires that there is a /tmp directory.
> You may rely on the existence of that directory.

In multi-user level, that is. Single user there MAY not be a /tmp
present cq mounted yet.
--
************************************************** ******************
** Eef Hartman, Delft University of Technology, dept. EWI/TW **
** e-mail: E.J.M.Hartman@math.tudelft.nl, fax: +31-15-278 7295 **
** snail-mail: P.O. Box 5031, 2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands **
************************************************** ******************

Laurenz Albe wrote:
> ray <nospam@example.com> wrote:
>
>> How do you know that /tmp is "required"? Not
>>really trying to argue, but does the kernel source spell out /tmp as a
>>requirement? Do programs just assume it's there and properly mounted?
>
>
> The POSIX standard requires that there is a /tmp directory.
> You may rely on the existence of that directory.
>
> Yours,
> Laurenz Albe

Works for me. Thank you for clearing that up.
I learn something new every day.

Ray