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Update usage note on OpenOptions::append()
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Avoid implying that concatenating data before passing it to `write()` (with
or without `BufWriter`) ensures atomicity.
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hniksic committed Apr 16, 2024
1 parent ad18fe0 commit d8745f9
Showing 1 changed file with 18 additions and 9 deletions.
27 changes: 18 additions & 9 deletions library/std/src/fs.rs
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -980,15 +980,21 @@ impl OpenOptions {
/// Note that setting `.write(true).append(true)` has the same effect as
/// setting only `.append(true)`.
///
/// For most filesystems, the operating system guarantees that all writes are
/// atomic: no writes get mangled because another process writes at the same
/// time.
///
/// One maybe obvious note when using append-mode: make sure that all data
/// that belongs together is written to the file in one operation. This
/// can be done by concatenating strings before passing them to [`write()`],
/// or using a buffered writer (with a buffer of adequate size),
/// and calling [`flush()`] when the message is complete.
/// Append mode guarantees that writes will be positioned at the current end of file,
/// even when there are other processes or threads appending to the same file. This is
/// unlike <code>[seek]\([SeekFrom]::[End]\(0))</code> followed by `write()`, which
/// has a race between seeking and writing during which another writer can write, with
/// our `write()` overwriting their data.
///
/// Keep in mind that this does not necessarily guarantee that data appended by
/// different processes or threads does not interleave. The amount of data accepted a
/// single `write()` call depends on the operating system and file system. A
/// successful `write()` is allowed to write only part of the given data, so even if
/// you're careful to provide the whole message in a single call to `write()`, there
/// is no guarantee that it will be written out in full. If you rely on the filesystem
/// accepting the message in a single write, make sure that all data that belongs
/// together is written in one operation. This can be done by concatenating strings
/// before passing them to [`write()`].
///
/// If a file is opened with both read and append access, beware that after
/// opening, and after every write, the position for reading may be set at the
Expand All @@ -1003,6 +1009,9 @@ impl OpenOptions {
/// [`write()`]: Write::write "io::Write::write"
/// [`flush()`]: Write::flush "io::Write::flush"
/// [stream_position]: Seek::stream_position "io::Seek::stream_position"
/// [seek]: Seek::seek "io::Seek::seek"
/// [Current]: SeekFrom::Current "io::SeekFrom::Current"
/// [End]: SeekFrom::End "io::SeekFrom::End"
///
/// # Examples
///
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