[mapserver-dev] RFC 66 - Better handling of temporary files

[thomas bonfort]

On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 22:23, Frank Warmerdam <warmerdam at pobox.com> wrote:
> On 11-01-14 07:46 AM, thomas bonfort wrote:
>>
>> Jeff,
>> I don't like TEMPPATH because it should not be necessary for a user to
>> have to configure it. On unix, there is a system function that will
>> guarantee to create you a temp file without having to make the
>> assumption it will be in /tmp, and I imagine it could be possible to
>> implement something similar for windows if it doesn't exist.
>> Let's not burden our users with setting a configuration variable for
>> something that is system related and should be taken care of
>> transparently.
>
> Thomas,
>
> I like the idea of being able to control where my MapServer temp
> files are created - either so I can keep them separate from system
> temporary files, or so I can control what drive they are on (ie.
> ram drive, extra physical drive).  But it might be nice if the
> *fallback* when it isn't set is to do the normal system behavior.
>

Frank,
as a developer, I agree that knowing where the temp file is created so
you can inspect what is going on is a definitive plus. As a user, I
don't see the point, and would especially not want to have to
configure it.
I'm +1 for a default system call if TEMPPATH is not specified and use
whatever defined value if the user has gone to the trouble of
specifying it, and against having a log message
be output if TEMPPATH is not set.
My initial concern is that we seem to be reinventing the wheel in
regards to tempfile creation, whereas there are secure and tested
solutions with mkstemp that we should at least investigate before
rolling out our own.

best regards,
thomas

ps. I hope the tone is not harsh or condescending, its not my aim in any way.