Sqlite is a library that you can just link to. Use that for your state-handling, and you need not fear a thousand SIGKILLs. This is a very popular approach. Or

Sqlite is a library that you can just link to. Use that for your state-handling, and you need not fear a thousand SIGKILLs. This is a very popular approach. Or, if you're on a server, you can use another database. Or use atomic file writes, if you have fancy needs. If you have really exotic needs then sure, do your own thing -- but most of the time, killability is easy and beneficial.