Python equivalent of _tempnam?

[Richard]

Hi,

I am writing an application which produces file output. Files are outputted
to a directory and I want to ensure that if an output filename is given that
already exists in that directory a number is affixed to the filename to
ensure that the existing file is not appended to or overwritten. i.e.
output_0.txt, then output_1.txt etc...

I have been told that a way of doing this in C is by using _tempnam( ).
However I want to write this in Python, so is there an equivalent function?
My application will only be executed occasionally so I am unable to keep an
internal record of file numbering. I assume that I need to find the highest
number file (if exists) in the directory and then increment that by one
before creating the new file.

Any ideas?

Cheers

Richard