tmp
Tmp is how people say temporary. They mean something that lasts only a short time, like a temp worker or a temp file you delete later.
What a model may hear
- temporary directory Unix/Linux systems
- look for or create files in /tmp or /var/tmp, treat the path as world-writable and volatile
- temporary file programming standard libraries
- generate a scratch file using mkstemp, tmpfile, or similar, then auto-delete it
- RNA nucleobase biochemistry
- interpret as thymidine monophosphate, a modified nucleotide
- temperature physics and engineering shorthand
- read as temp or temperature in equations or sensor data
Where people and models part ways
“save it to tmp”
Meant: put it somewhere I can find it for now
May be taken as: write to /tmp where another user or process may read or delete it, or where it vanishes on reboot
Say instead: “save it to a temporary folder I choose, like my Downloads folder”
“clean up tmp”
Meant: delete my temporary files
May be taken as: run a system command that wipes /tmp and breaks running programs
Say instead: “delete the temporary files I created in my working folder”
“tmp is full”
Meant: I have too many temp files
May be taken as: report disk usage for /tmp instead of the user's actual temp folder
Say instead: “my temporary working folder is running out of space”
“make a tmp copy”
Meant: make a quick backup I will delete soon
May be taken as: create a file in /tmp that disappears or is insecure
Say instead: “make a temporary copy in my current folder with a date stamp”
Tips
- Say temporary folder with a specific path if you want the file to last until you delete it.
- Say system temp or /tmp only if you mean the operating system's shared temporary directory.
- Add keep until I delete it if you do not want the model to assume auto-cleanup.
- Use scratch or working instead of tmp if you mean a private workspace, not a shared system folder.
- Specify permissions like only I can read it when asking for temporary storage of sensitive data.
Often confused with
- temp
- same spoken sound, but temp more often means temperature or a temporary worker
- tempo
- speed or pace in music, not storage
- dump
- a copy for debugging, kept longer and often larger
- cache
- stored for speed of reuse, not meant for quick deletion
- swap
- memory overflow to disk, managed by the system not the user
- staging
- a holding area before final placement, more deliberate than temporary