228 lines
9.3 KiB
ReStructuredText
228 lines
9.3 KiB
ReStructuredText
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:mod:`tempfile` --- Generate temporary files and directories
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============================================================
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.. sectionauthor:: Zack Weinberg <zack@codesourcery.com>
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.. module:: tempfile
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:synopsis: Generate temporary files and directories.
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.. index::
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pair: temporary; file name
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pair: temporary; file
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This module generates temporary files and directories. It works on all
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supported platforms.
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In version 2.3 of Python, this module was overhauled for enhanced security. It
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now provides three new functions, :func:`NamedTemporaryFile`, :func:`mkstemp`,
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and :func:`mkdtemp`, which should eliminate all remaining need to use the
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insecure :func:`mktemp` function. Temporary file names created by this module
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no longer contain the process ID; instead a string of six random characters is
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used.
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Also, all the user-callable functions now take additional arguments which allow
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direct control over the location and name of temporary files. It is no longer
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necessary to use the global *tempdir* and *template* variables. To maintain
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backward compatibility, the argument order is somewhat odd; it is recommended to
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use keyword arguments for clarity.
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The module defines the following user-callable functions:
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.. function:: TemporaryFile([mode='w+b'[, bufsize=-1[, suffix[, prefix[, dir]]]]])
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Return a file-like object that can be used as a temporary storage
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area. The file is created using :func:`mkstemp`. It will be destroyed as soon
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as it is closed (including an implicit close when the object is garbage
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collected). Under Unix, the directory entry for the file is removed immediately
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after the file is created. Other platforms do not support this; your code
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should not rely on a temporary file created using this function having or not
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having a visible name in the file system.
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The *mode* parameter defaults to ``'w+b'`` so that the file created can be read
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and written without being closed. Binary mode is used so that it behaves
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consistently on all platforms without regard for the data that is stored.
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*bufsize* defaults to ``-1``, meaning that the operating system default is used.
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The *dir*, *prefix* and *suffix* parameters are passed to :func:`mkstemp`.
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The returned object is a true file object on POSIX platforms. On other
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platforms, it is a file-like object whose :attr:`file` attribute is the
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underlying true file object.
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.. function:: NamedTemporaryFile([mode='w+b'[, bufsize=-1[, suffix[, prefix[, dir[, delete]]]]]])
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This function operates exactly as :func:`TemporaryFile` does, except that the
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file is guaranteed to have a visible name in the file system (on Unix, the
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directory entry is not unlinked). That name can be retrieved from the
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:attr:`name` member of the file object. Whether the name can be used to open
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the file a second time, while the named temporary file is still open, varies
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across platforms (it can be so used on Unix; it cannot on Windows NT or later).
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If *delete* is true (the default), the file is deleted as soon as it is closed.
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The returned object is always a file-like object whose :attr:`file` attribute
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is the underlying true file object.
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.. versionadded:: 2.3
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.. versionadded:: 2.6
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The *delete* parameter.
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.. function:: SpooledTemporaryFile([max_size=0, [mode='w+b'[, bufsize=-1[, suffix[, prefix[, dir]]]]]])
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This function operates exactly as :func:`TemporaryFile` does, except that data
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is spooled in memory until the file size exceeds *max_size*, or until the file's
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:func:`fileno` method is called, at which point the contents are written to disk
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and operation proceeds as with :func:`TemporaryFile`.
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The resulting file has one additional method, :func:`rollover`, which causes the
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file to roll over to an on-disk file regardless of its size.
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The returned object is a file-like object whose :attr:`_file` attribute
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is either a :class:`StringIO` object or a true file object, depending on
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whether :func:`rollover` has been called.
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.. versionadded:: 2.6
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.. function:: mkstemp([suffix[, prefix[, dir[, text]]]])
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Creates a temporary file in the most secure manner possible. There are no
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race conditions in the file's creation, assuming that the platform properly
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implements the :const:`os.O_EXCL` flag for :func:`os.open`. The file is
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readable and writable only by the creating user ID. If the platform uses
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permission bits to indicate whether a file is executable, the file is
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executable by no one. The file descriptor is not inherited by child
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processes.
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Unlike :func:`TemporaryFile`, the user of :func:`mkstemp` is responsible for
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deleting the temporary file when done with it.
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If *suffix* is specified, the file name will end with that suffix, otherwise
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there will be no suffix. :func:`mkstemp` does not put a dot between the file
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name and the suffix; if you need one, put it at the beginning of *suffix*.
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If *prefix* is specified, the file name will begin with that prefix; otherwise,
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a default prefix is used.
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If *dir* is specified, the file will be created in that directory; otherwise,
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a default directory is used. The default directory is chosen from a
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platform-dependent list, but the user of the application can control the
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directory location by setting the *TMPDIR*, *TEMP* or *TMP* environment
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variables. There is thus no guarantee that the generated filename will have
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any nice properties, such as not requiring quoting when passed to external
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commands via ``os.popen()``.
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If *text* is specified, it indicates whether to open the file in binary mode
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(the default) or text mode. On some platforms, this makes no difference.
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:func:`mkstemp` returns a tuple containing an OS-level handle to an open file
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(as would be returned by :func:`os.open`) and the absolute pathname of that
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file, in that order.
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.. versionadded:: 2.3
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.. function:: mkdtemp([suffix[, prefix[, dir]]])
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Creates a temporary directory in the most secure manner possible. There are no
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race conditions in the directory's creation. The directory is readable,
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writable, and searchable only by the creating user ID.
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The user of :func:`mkdtemp` is responsible for deleting the temporary directory
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and its contents when done with it.
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The *prefix*, *suffix*, and *dir* arguments are the same as for :func:`mkstemp`.
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:func:`mkdtemp` returns the absolute pathname of the new directory.
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.. versionadded:: 2.3
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.. function:: mktemp([suffix[, prefix[, dir]]])
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.. deprecated:: 2.3
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Use :func:`mkstemp` instead.
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Return an absolute pathname of a file that did not exist at the time the call is
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made. The *prefix*, *suffix*, and *dir* arguments are the same as for
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:func:`mkstemp`.
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.. warning::
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Use of this function may introduce a security hole in your program. By the time
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you get around to doing anything with the file name it returns, someone else may
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have beaten you to the punch.
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The module uses two global variables that tell it how to construct a temporary
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name. They are initialized at the first call to any of the functions above.
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The caller may change them, but this is discouraged; use the appropriate
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function arguments, instead.
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.. data:: tempdir
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When set to a value other than ``None``, this variable defines the default value
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for the *dir* argument to all the functions defined in this module.
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If ``tempdir`` is unset or ``None`` at any call to any of the above functions,
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Python searches a standard list of directories and sets *tempdir* to the first
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one which the calling user can create files in. The list is:
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#. The directory named by the :envvar:`TMPDIR` environment variable.
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#. The directory named by the :envvar:`TEMP` environment variable.
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#. The directory named by the :envvar:`TMP` environment variable.
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#. A platform-specific location:
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* On RiscOS, the directory named by the :envvar:`Wimp$ScrapDir` environment
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variable.
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* On Windows, the directories :file:`C:\\TEMP`, :file:`C:\\TMP`,
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:file:`\\TEMP`, and :file:`\\TMP`, in that order.
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* On all other platforms, the directories :file:`/tmp`, :file:`/var/tmp`, and
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:file:`/usr/tmp`, in that order.
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#. As a last resort, the current working directory.
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.. function:: gettempdir()
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Return the directory currently selected to create temporary files in. If
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:data:`tempdir` is not ``None``, this simply returns its contents; otherwise,
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the search described above is performed, and the result returned.
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.. data:: template
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.. deprecated:: 2.0
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Use :func:`gettempprefix` instead.
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When set to a value other than ``None``, this variable defines the prefix of the
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final component of the filenames returned by :func:`mktemp`. A string of six
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random letters and digits is appended to the prefix to make the filename unique.
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On Windows, the default prefix is :file:`~T`; on all other systems it is
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:file:`tmp`.
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Older versions of this module used to require that ``template`` be set to
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``None`` after a call to :func:`os.fork`; this has not been necessary since
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version 1.5.2.
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.. function:: gettempprefix()
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Return the filename prefix used to create temporary files. This does not
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contain the directory component. Using this function is preferred over reading
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the *template* variable directly.
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.. versionadded:: 1.5.2
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