al_make_temp_file(3alleg5)

💖 al_make_temp_file — Allegro 5 API 💖

okay bestie, welcome to the Allegro 5 corner of the man pages (3alleg5, if we're being precise, and we ARE). today's main character is al_make_temp_file and she is so useful. let's get into it 🫶

---

✨ NAME ✨

al_make_temp_file — Allegro 5 API

---

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <allegro5/allegro.h>

ALLEGRO_FILE *al_make_temp_file(const char *template, ALLEGRO_PATH **ret_path)

---

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so picture this: you need a temp file, you don't care what it's called, you just need it to exist and be named something random. that's literally her whole job 💅

She makes a temporary, randomly named file based on a filename template that you hand her.

So, template — that's a string giving the format of the generated filename, and it should include one or more capital Xs. Those Xs get replaced with random alphanumeric characters. and ngl, the randomness is coming from a simple pseudo-random number generator only — that's it, that's the whole vibe, no cryptographic anything going on here. also: there should be no path separators in the template. none. zero. don't do it 🙈

If ret_path is not NULL, then the address it points to gets set to point to a new path structure holding the name of the temporary file. cute, right? a lil souvenir of where your file ended up 🎀

Returns the opened ALLEGRO_FILE on success, and NULL on failure.

⚠️ heads up bestie: the RNG is a plain pseudo-random one, and path separators in the template are a no-go. keep the template clean and you're golden ✨

---

👑 the sign-off 👑

fr fr, that's the whole page — courtesy of the Allegro reference manual, page al_make_temp_file(3alleg5), living in section 3alleg5. go make some temp files, bestie, you're gonna slay 🦋💖✨