# TemporaryFile

A TemporaryFile object represents the name of a temporary file in the local file system. Since it represents a filename, you can use a TemporaryFile object in place of a filename string when calling the "open" methods of the File object.

A temporary file is a file that only exists for as long as the program is running. This is useful for things like storing data too large to fit conveniently in memory, or data that you don't need to access frequently but wish to keep around for reference purposes.

A temporary file is mostly the same as an ordinary file, but has a few special properties:

- A temporary file is automatically deleted when the program exits. (That's the reason it's called "temporary".)
- The file's name is assigned by the system, not by your program or by the user. When you create a TemporaryFile object, the system automatically assigns the object a unique name that doesn't refer to any existing file on the system.
- The file's directory location is determined by the system, not by your program or by the user. Most operating systems have special directories designated to store temporary files. This lets the system delete old temporary files from time to time in case the programs that create them fail to clean them up themselves.
- Temporary files bypass the file safety settings, so you can use temporary files even when the safety level prohibits other access to the file system.

To use the TemporaryFile class, you should #include the system header file file.h in your source files.

TemporaryFile objects are always transient. This means that they're not saved or restored as part of saved game files. Saving a TemporaryFile would be meaningless because it represents a filename that's only valid for as long as the program is running; restoring such a name from a saved session wouldn't be usable anyway, since the name only applied to that previous session.

## Creation

To create a TemporaryFile object, use the new operator:

    local temp = new TemporaryFile();

There are no arguments. The system automatically assigns the new object a unique filename in the local file system directory designated by the operating system for temporary files. For example, on Linux systems, this will usually be the /tmp directory.

## Accessing temporary files

Creating a TemporaryFile object doesn't actually create a file on disk. It merely assigns a unique name that you can use to create a file. To create the file itself, you can use any of the "open" methods of the File object, passing the TemporaryFile in place of the filename:

    local f = File.openTextFile(temp, FileAccessWrite, 'ascii');

After you open a temporary file, you can use it just like an ordinary file.

You can also pass a TemporaryFile object in place of a filename string to the following built-in functions:

- logConsoleCreate() (create a log file console)
- setLogFile() (set a transcript or command log file)
- setScriptFile() (read commands from a command transcript)
- restoreGame() (restore the game state from a file)
- saveGame() (save the game state to a file)

## Methods

deleteFile()

Explicitly deletes the local file corresponding to the TemporaryFile object. There's no error if the local file doesn't exist or if it exists but can't be deleted.

The purpose of this method is to explicitly release the temporary file early. The system automatically deletes the underlying file system file, either when the garbage collector deletes the TemporaryFile object, or when the program exits, whichever is earlier. This method lets you delete the underlying file even earlier, if you know that you won't have any further use for it. This is never necessary, since the automatic deletion will eventually do the same thing anyway. However, if you make heavy use of temporary files in a program that you expect to run for a long time continuously, it might help reduce your total disk usage if you use this method to delete temporary files immediately when you're done with them, rather than waiting for the garbage collector to get around to it.

This method has no arguments and no return value.

getFilename()

Returns a string giving the name of the file in the local file system. This is a fully-qualified path on most systems.

This method is mostly for debugging purposes or for displaying to the user. Don't use the returned filename to try to open the file with one of the File "open" methods - in most cases, the file safety settings will prohibit access to this file by name, since it's usually in a system directory outside of the program's home folder.

## Automatic deletion

TADS automatically deletes any file you create in the local file system using a TemporaryFile object when your program exits, or when the TemporaryFile object itself is deleted by the garbage collector.

When the TemporaryFile object is deleted by the garbage collector, it means that your program no longer has any references to it. Without the TemporaryFile object, it's not possible for your program to open the file again, since opening it requires a reference to the TemporaryFile object. So the system knows that you won't be able to access the underlying file any longer, and automatically deletes it. If the TemporaryFile object is never deleted during routine garbage collection, the system will automatically delete the file when the program exits.

(Note that if you open the temporary file for access via a File object, the File object creates its own reference to the TemporaryFile. This means that as long as a temporary file is open, it won't be deleted: since the File object has a reference to the TemporaryFile object, the garbage collector won't delete the TemporaryFile object as long as the File object exists.)

You can also explicitly delete the temporary file. You're not required to do this, since the system will eventually delete the file automatically. However, you might occasionally have a reason to delete a temporary file immediately when you're done with it, rather than waiting for the system to clean it up automatically. For example, if you're writing a server program that might run for a long time continuously, and you make heavy use of temporary files, cleaning up temp files as soon as you're done with them might help avoid spikes in disk usage. To delete a temporary file manually, use the deleteFile() method.

## File safety level bypass

Temporary files bypass the file safety settings. You can create, read, and write temporary files even if the safety level prohibits access to other local files.

This exception to the file safety restrictions is allowed because TemporaryFile objects are inherently protected against the sorts of misuse that the file safety mechanism protects against for ordinary files. The purpose of the file safety settings is to let the user set limits on the program's access to the local file system, to protect against errant or malicious software. In particular, file safety prevents programs from reading the user's private data, altering or deleting private data, or planting viruses or other malware in privileged directories. Temporary files are designed to be secure against these misuses separately from the file safety settings. It's not possible to access or alter existing data via a TemporaryFile object, since the underlying filename is assigned by the system and is always a new, unused name (i.e., never the name of an existing file). It's not possible to create files in system or program directories, since temporary files are always placed in the designated temporary file folder. Finally, it's not possible to leave any data on the system at all with a temporary file, since a temporary file is deleted automatically when the program exits (if not sooner).

This safety level override feature is the reason that you shouldn't attempt to use the string version of the filename (as returned by getFilename) to open or delete the file. The File class grants the special exception only to the TemporaryFile object itself, not to the underlying filename.

TADS 3 System Manual
Table of Contents | The Intrinsics > TemporaryFile
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