Searching for IPC 'key' generator

[bobl at]

To all UNIX developers...

When developing an application which will utilize shared memory, semaphores
and/or message queues, what is the best, and most portable, method of
creating the 'key' used to identify the Inter Process Communication (IPC)
resource such that conflicts with other applications can be avoided?
(Particularly in an environment with locally developed and 'shrinkwrap'
applications co-habitating and all wanting to do IPC.) 

We are currently using 'ftok' to generate a key that is guaranteed to be
unique within a system/processor. However, ftok is not part of the XPG-3
specification which is the basis of our development standards. But, we can
find nothing in XPG-3 which offers equivalent functionality. 

Bob Long
GTE Telephone Operations   P.O. Box 290152
IM Technology              Mail Code S5-A
                           Temple Terrace, FL 33687
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