Correct usage note on OpenOptions::append()

Author: hniksic

library/std/src/fs.rs

@@ -980,15 +980,18 @@ 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 atomicity of `write()` in append mode is less useful than it
+    /// appears at first. 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 written out in full. Unless
+    /// the data to append consists of a single byte, you can't append atomically without
+    /// external locking.
     ///
     /// 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
@@ -1003,6 +1006,9 @@ 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
     ///