I have a calendaring system which I tinker with from time to time and I make PDF reports of schedules and such. What I did was make the text into a POD format, then use POD::Pdf (well, a hacked up version). But, that may not fit your needs :) I have used some other PDF tooks in the past and suggest trying a few to see what is best for your app.

As for the filenames. Is the 'user' actually logged in (via some way you have an equiv of REMOTE_USER)? I have used things like $ENV{REMOTE_USER}.$$.file.ext for simple anti-race names. I also use the following to generate a random name: 


my @set    = ('a' .. 'z', 'A' .. 'Z');
my $length = 8; # Change length if desired       
my $random = join "" => map {$set [rand @set]} 1 .. $length;
my $tmp_file = $random . "." . $$ . ".ext";

[download]

Many people have their own way to get a unique name. I tend to like adding a login name (if available), the PID (assuming I will unlink() the file when done), and some random string. If you are extra paranoid (or extra careful :) you could also add a sempahore file with the name of your temp file, and lock it. If you can't get a lock on it, then the name must be in use and you can generate another.

Cheers,
KM

In reply to Re: Avoiding race conditions by KM
in thread Avoiding race conditions by swiftone

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