g.tempfile(1grass) GRASS GIS User's Manual g.tempfile(1grass)
NAME
g.tempfile - Creates a temporary file and prints it’s file name.
KEYWORDS
general, support, scripts
SYNOPSIS
g.tempfile
g.tempfile --help
g.tempfile [-d] pid=integer [--help] [--verbose] [--quiet] [--ui]
Flags:
-d
Dry run - don’t create a file, just prints it’s file name
--help
Print usage summary
--verbose
Verbose module output
--quiet
Quiet module output
--ui
Force launching GUI dialog
Parameters:
pid=integer [required]
Process id to use when naming the tempfile
DESCRIPTION
g.tempfile is designed for shell scripts that need to use large tempo-
rary files. GRASS provides a mechanism for temporary files that does
not depend on /tmp. GRASS temporary files are created in the data base
with the assumption that there will be enough space under the data base
for large files. GRASS periodically removes temporary files that have
been left behind by programs that failed to remove them before termi-
nating.
g.tempfile creates an unique file and prints the name. The user is re-
quired to provide a process-id which will be used as part of the name
of the file. Most Unix shells provide a way to get the process id of
the current shell. For /bin/sh and /bin/csh this is $$. It is recom-
mended that $$ be specified as the process-id for g.tempfile.
EXAMPLE
For /bin/sh scripts the following syntax should be used:
temp1=`g.tempfile pid=$$`
temp2=`g.tempfile pid=$$`
For /bin/csh scripts, the following can be used:
set temp1=`g.tempfile pid=$$`
set temp2=`g.tempfile pid=$$`
NOTES
Each call to g.tempfile creates a different (i.e. unique) name. Al-
though GRASS does eventually get around to removing tempfiles that have
been left behind, the programmer should make every effort to remove
these files. They often get large and take up disk space. If you write
/bin/sh scripts, learn to use the /bin/sh trap command. If you write
/bin/csh scripts, learn to use the /bin/csh onintr command.
AUTHOR
Michael Shapiro, U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory
SOURCE CODE
Available at: g.tempfile source code (history)
Accessed: unknown
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GRASS 7.8.7 g.tempfile(1grass)
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