tmpfile
Creates a temporary file. This function is deprecated because a more secure version is available; see tmpfile_s.
Syntax
FILE *tmpfile( void );
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. The temporary file is created in the root directory. To create a temporary file in a directory other than the root, use tmpnam or tempnam with fopen.
If the file can't 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 doesn't change. The temporary file is opened in w+b (binary read/write) mode.
Failure can occur if you attempt more than TMP_MAX (see STDIO.H) calls with tmpfile.
Requirements
| Routine | Required header |
|---|---|
tmpfile |
<stdio.h> |
For more compatibility information, see Compatibility.
Example
Note
This example requires administrative privileges to run on Windows Vista.
// crt_tmpfile.c
// compile with: /W3
// This program uses tmpfile to create a
// temporary file, then deletes this file with _rmtmp.
#include <stdio.h>
int main( void )
{
FILE *stream;
int i;
// Create temporary files.
for( i = 1; i <= 3; i++ )
{
if( (stream = tmpfile()) == NULL ) // C4996
// Note: tmpfile is deprecated; consider using tmpfile_s instead
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() );
}
Temporary file 1 was created
Temporary file 2 was created
Temporary file 3 was created
3 temporary files deleted