Re: mktemp: require that the template include at least 6 'X' to match POSIX mkstemp/mkdtemp.

[Pádraig Brady]

On 18/01/16 07:32, Zhixiong Chi wrote:
> Hi All,
> I find the command 'mktemp' between coreutils and the standalone mktemp 
> package is different for the consecutive 'X'.
>     mktemp.coreutils : at least 3 'X'
>     standalone mktemp : at least 6 'X'
> At the same time I observe a commit as follow:
> https://www.mktemp.org/repos/mktemp/rev/a47f80204f77
> As the commit mentioned, the purpose is to match POSIX requirement.
> 
> Will we change the mktemp.coreutils code to match the POSIX?
> 
> Thanks a lot for your time.
> 

I'm not sure.

POSIX does state that mkstemp(3) needs six XXXXXX,
though doesn't specify the interface for mktemp(1) at all,
and our mktemp(1) doesn't actually call mkstemp(3).

Changing to 6 could break some existing scripts.

For completeness, mktemp(1) uses 9 Xs in the default template.

thanks,
Pádraig