Workerfilename

Workerfilename is a naming convention used for files produced by worker processes in distributed or multi-user computing environments. The convention emphasizes traceability, collision avoidance, and fault recovery by embedding contextual information in the file name. While not a formal standard, it is adopted in various systems as a practical pattern for temporary and intermediate data.

A typical Workerfilename includes several components: a fixed prefix such as 'worker', a job or task identifier, a process or thread identifier, a timestamp or sequence number, and a suffix indicating the file type. Formats commonly use hyphens or underscores. Examples include worker-Job42-P1234-20250623T101015.dat and worker_Job42_P1234_20250623T101015.tmp. The exact layout is project-specific and can vary to fit tooling.

Usage usually involves creating the file in a designated working directory, writing intermediate results, and then renaming or moving the file to a final artifact when the task completes. If a task fails, the file may be preserved with an error suffix or archived. The naming pattern helps operators correlate files with their source tasks across machines, supporting debugging and audit trails.

Implementation considerations include using atomic creation to avoid collisions, leveraging language or OS facilities for temporary files, and securing permissions to limit access to authorized users. Path normalization and avoidance of user-provided, untrusted segments reduce security risks in shared environments.

Variants exist across projects, with some teams adding content hashes or GIDs to further minimize collisions or to encode data type. Related terms include temporary files, job artifacts, and per-worker logs. See also temporary file, unique identifier, and distributed systems artifacts.