Developer Guide and Reference

ID 767251
Date 10/31/2024
Public
Document Table of Contents

Temporary Files Created by the Compiler or Linker

Temporary files created by the compiler or linker reside in the directory used by the operating system to store temporary files.

To store temporary files, the driver first checks for the TMP environment variable. If defined, the directory that TMP points to is used to store temporary files.

If the TMP environment variable is not defined, the driver then checks for the TMPDIR environment variable. If defined, the directory that TMPDIR points to is used to store temporary files.

If the TMPDIR environment variable is not defined, the driver then checks for the TEMP environment variable. If defined, the directory that TEMP points to is used to store temporary files.

The following occurs if the TEMP environment variable is not defined:

Linux

The /tmp directory is used to store temporary files.

Windows

The current working directory is used to store temporary files.

Temporary files are usually deleted. Specify option [Q]save-temps to save temporary files created by the compiler in the current working directory. This option only saves intermediate files that are normally created during compilation.

For better performance, use a local drive (rather than a network drive) to contain temporary files.

To view the file name and directory where each temporary file is created, specify the all keyword for option watch.

To create object files in your current working directory, specify option c.

Any object files that you specify on the command line are retained.

See Also