Creates a temporary file.
FILE *tmpfile( void );
| Routine | Required Header | Compatibility |
| tmpfile | <stdio.h> | ANSI, Win 95, Win NT |
For additional compatibility information, see Compatibility in the Introduction.
Libraries
| LIBC.LIB | Single thread static library, retail version |
| LIBCMT.LIB | Multithread static library, retail version |
| MSVCRT.LIB | Import library for MSVCRT.DLL, retail version |
Return Value
If successful, tmpfile returns a stream pointer. Otherwise, it returns a NULL pointer.
Remarks
The tmpfile function creates a temporary file and returns a pointer to that stream. If the file cannot be opened, tmpfile returns a NULL pointer. This temporary file is automatically deleted when the file is closed, when the program terminates normally, or when _rmtmp is called, assuming that the current working directory does not change. The temporary file is opened in w+b (binary read/write) mode.
Example
/* TMPFILE.C: This program uses tmpfile to create a
* temporary file, then deletes this file with _rmtmp.
*/
#include <stdio.h>
void main( void )
{
FILE *stream;
char tempstring[] = "String to be written";
int i;
/* Create temporary files. */
for( i = 1; i <= 3; i++ )
{
if( (stream = tmpfile()) == NULL )
perror( "Could not open new temporary file\n" );
else
printf( "Temporary file %d was created\n", i );
}
/* Remove temporary files. */
printf( "%d temporary files deleted\n", _rmtmp() );
}
Output
Temporary file 1 was created
Temporary file 2 was created
Temporary file 3 was created
3 temporary files deleted