Lew Pitcher wrote:
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> ray wrote:
>
>>was updating some of my scripts yesterday... noticed a lack of a
>>variable for TEMP or TMP or tmp or temp... I know I can use /tmp/ but in
>>windows I've gotten used to using %temp% being "just there" as an
>>envvar... what do you guys do? Assume /tmp/ is there? create a ~/tmp/
>>as needed?
>
>
> Well, first of all, /tmp is /required/ to be there. It's job as a
> directory is to be the host to temporary files from any user process.
> /tmp exists, or your system is as broken as WinXP without a %SYSTEM%
> directory. The tools and functions that manipulate temporary files do so
> in /tmp (but can be overridden to do so in some other directory).
>

I know I can create an envvar, I guess I was just surprised to not find
it already defined. How do you know that /tmp is "required"? Not
really trying to argue, but does the kernel source spell out /tmp as a
requirement? Do programs just assume it's there and properly mounted?

oh, and it's %systemroot% - there's no %system% var.