Tempfile Module

tempfile - Generate temporary files and directories.

TemporaryFile( [mode='w+b'[, bufsize=-1[, suffix[, prefix[, dir]]]]])
Return a file (or file-like) object that can be used as a temporary storage area. The file is created using mkstemp. It will be destroyed as soon as it is closed (including an implicit close when the object is garbage collected). Under Unix, the directory entry for the file is removed immediately after the file is created. Other platforms do not support this; your code should not rely on a temporary file created using this function having or not having a visible name in the file system.
The mode parameter defaults to 'w+b' so that the file created can be read and written without being closed. Binary mode is used so that it behaves consistently on all platforms without regard for the data that is stored. bufsize defaults to -1, meaning that the operating system default is used.
The dir, prefix and suffix parameters are passed to mkstemp().

    tf = TemporaryFile()   
    tf.write("abcdef")
    tf.read(6)              # "abcdef"
    tf.close()              # [file is removed!]

NamedTemporaryFile( [mode='w+b'[, bufsize=-1[, suffix[, prefix[, dir]]]]])
This function operates exactly as TemporaryFile() does, except that the file is guaranteed to have a visible name in the file system (on Unix, the directory entry is not unlinked). That name can be retrieved from the name member of the file object. Whether the name can be used to open the file a second time, while the named temporary file is still open, varies across platforms (it can be so used on Unix; it cannot on Windows NT or later). New in version 2.3.

    tf = NamedTemporaryFile()   
    tf.name   # 'c:\\docume~1\\username\\locals~1\\temp\\tmp3yjedb'

mkstemp( [suffix[, prefix[, dir[, text]]]])
Creates a temporary file in the most secure manner possible. There are no race conditions in the file's creation, assuming that the platform properly implements the O_EXCL flag for os.open(). The file is readable and writable only by the creating user ID. If the platform uses permission bits to indicate whether a file is executable, the file is executable by no one. The file descriptor is not inherited by child processes.
Unlike TemporaryFile(), the user of mkstemp() is responsible for deleting the temporary file when done with it.
If suffix is specified, the file name will end with that suffix, otherwise there will be no suffix. mkstemp() does not put a dot between the file name and the suffix; if you need one, put it at the beginning of suffix.
If prefix is specified, the file name will begin with that prefix; otherwise, a default prefix is used.
If dir is specified, the file will be created in that directory; otherwise, a default directory is used. The default directory is chosen from a platform-dependent list, but the user of the application can control the directory location by setting the TMPDIR, TEMP or TMP environment variables. There is thus no guarantee that the generated filename will have any nice properties, such as not requiring quoting when passed to external commands via os.popen().
If text is specified, it indicates whether to open the file in binary mode (the default) or text mode. On some platforms, this makes no difference.
mkstemp() returns a tuple containing an OS-level handle to an open file (as would be returned by os.open()) and the absolute pathname of that file, in that order. New in version 2.3.

    mkstemp()   # (4, 'c:\\docume~1\\username\\locals~1\\temp\\tmpcovv7k')
                # [4 above is an OS-level handle to an open file]

mkdtemp( [suffix[, prefix[, dir]]])
Creates a temporary directory in the most secure manner possible. There are no race conditions in the directory's creation. The directory is readable, writable, and searchable only by the creating user ID.
The user of mkdtemp() is responsible for deleting the temporary directory and its contents when done with it.
The prefix, suffix, and dir arguments are the same as for mkstemp().
mkdtemp() returns the absolute pathname of the new directory. New in version 2.3.

    mkdtemp()   # 'c:\\docume~1\\username\\locals~1\\temp\\tmpeuijuy'

gettempdir( )
Return the directory currently selected to create temporary files in. If tempdir is not None, this simply returns its contents; otherwise, the search described above is performed, and the result returned.

    gettempdir()   # 'c:\\docume~1\\username\\locals~1\\temp'

gettempprefix( )
Return the filename prefix used to create temporary files. This does not contain the directory component. Using this function is preferred over reading the template variable directly.

    gettempprefix()   # 'tmp'

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