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(m4.info)Maketemp

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Making names for temporary files
================================

   Commands specified to `syscmd' or `esyscmd' might need a temporary
file, for output or for some other purpose.  There is a builtin macro,
`maketemp', for making temporary file names:

     maketemp(TEMPLATE)

which expands to a name of a new, empty file, made from the string
TEMPLATE, which should end with the string `XXXXXX'.  The six `X''s are
then replaced, usually with something that includes the process id of
the `m4' process, in order to make the filename unique.

     maketemp(`/tmp/fooXXXXXX')
     =>/tmp/fooa07346

   The builtin macro `maketemp' is recognized only when given arguments.