Xref: utzoo comp.unix.questions:6435 comp.unix.wizards:7593 comp.lang.c:8932
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!ncar!noao!arizona!lm
From: lm@arizona.edu (Larry McVoy)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions,comp.unix.wizards,comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Writing to A NON-Existing File in "C"
Message-ID: <4709@megaron.arizona.edu>
Date: 6 Apr 88 07:28:12 GMT
References: <9654@jplgodo.UUCP>
Reply-To: lm@megaron.arizona.edu (Larry McVoy)
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Arizona, Tucson
Lines: 46
Keywords: C program, NON-EXISTING File, flushed results

In article <9654@jplgodo.UUCP> deutsch@jplgodo.UUCP (Michael Deutsch ) writes:
>
>I have a "C" program that records the program
>results into a file, provided that file already
>exists.  In case the file DOES NOT exist I want
>the program to function identically but the results
>should be flushed down the tube, i.e. nowhere

------ UNTESTED! -------

If you are using FILE*

    # include	<stdio.h>
    # include	<sys/types.h>
    # include	<sys/stat.h>

    FILE* myopen(name)
    char* name;
    {
	struct stat buf;
	extern errno;

	if (stat(name, &buf) == -1  && errno == ENOENT) 
	    return fopen("/dev/null", "w");
	else
	    return fopen(name, "w");
    }

Else

    myopen(name)
    char* name;
    {
	struct stat buf;
	extern errno;

	if (stat(name, &buf) == -1  && errno == ENOENT) 
	    return open("/dev/null", 1);
	else
	    return open(name, 1);
    }

How's that?
-- 
"These aren't my thoughts, they're my cat walking on the keyboard."

Larry McVoy	lm@arizona.edu or ...!{uwvax,sun}!arizona.edu!lm