TIP: 417 Title: Use Explicit Option Names for "file tempfile" Version: $Revision: 1.1 $ Author: Christophe Curis State: Draft Type: Project Tcl-Version: 8.7 Vote: Pending Created: 16-Nov-2012 Post-History: Keywords: Tcl, future expansion, extensibility ~ Abstract This TIP proposes altering the way in which optional arguments are specified to '''file tempfile''' (see [210]) to make them easier to understand and extend in the future. ~ Rationale The current documentation for '''file tempfile''' states that there are two optional arguments using a fixed order. This has some limits: * it is not possible to use the second argument without the first * being an infrequently-used function, having a fixed order implies that a look to the manual page will be obligatory to make sure of the order * this inhibits potential for any future expansion of the command. Switching to option/value format will make the optional arguments easier to understand. ~ Proposal The syntax of the command would be changed to: > '''file tempfile''' ?''options...''? with supported ''options'': * '''-namevar''' ''variable'': Specifies a variable for receiving the file name. * '''-template''' ''template'': Defines a template for the file name. This syntax would allow: * easy extension in the future, as any option name can be added, * ability to use any of the options in any order, * an explicit syntax making the code easier to read and understand. ~ Reference Implementation No implementation is available now, but the change is probably not complex; the priority have been placed on raising the subject before the release of the final 8.6 version of Tcl. ~ Copyright This document has been placed in the public domain.