Re: [Nmh-workers] tmp file cleanup

[Jon Steinhart]

David Levine writes:
> Here's what we have now for placement of MH/nmh tmp files:
> 
> * The nmh-storage profile component, if set, tells mhstore(1) where to
>   put its output.  If not set, mhstore uses the current directory.
>   This is documented in its man page.
> 
> * Most of the programs named mh*, which use the MIME parser, put tmp
>   files in the nmh-storage directory, if set.  If not, they put them
>   in the MH Path directory.
> 
> * Some other programs (dist, forw, prompter, rcvdist, rcvtty, slocal,
>   viamail, whatnow), put tmp files in the first non-null location of
>   {MHTMPDIR, TMPDIR, TMP, MH Path directory}.
> 
> * Some other programs (attach, post) put tmp files only in the MH Path
>   directory.
> 
> * Some other programs (anno, burst, rcvstore) put tmp files in the
>   folder of the message that they're working on.
> 
> * MHTMPDIR is used verbatim, even if it is a relative path.
> 
> * If a program is terminated by a failure or a signal, its tmp files
>   will be left.
> 
> * Some programs will seg fault if their specified tmp directory is not
>   writable.
> 
> Here's what I'd like to change that to:
> 
> * The nmh-storage profile component, if set, will only be used by
>   mhstore(1) for its outputs, as currently documented in its man page.
> 
> * All nmh programs will put tmp files in the first non-null location
>   of {MHTMPDIR, TMPDIR, TMP, MH Path directory}.
> 
> * If MHTMPDIR is not an absolute path, interpret it as relative to the
>   MH Path directory.  This will allow the user to specify, eg., a TMP
>   folder or ., relative to their PATH.
> 
> * Always remove all tmp files that the program created when it
>   terminates for any reason (except kill -KILL).
> 
> * Check that a tmp file has been created successfully before
>   attempting to use it.
> 
> Objections?
> 
> David

Sounds great.  Thanks!

Jon