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Next: <a rel="next" accesskey="n" href="File-Archiving-Utilities.html#File-Archiving-Utilities">File Archiving Utilities</a>,
Previous: <a rel="previous" accesskey="p" href="Timing-Utilities.html#Timing-Utilities">Timing Utilities</a>,
Up: <a rel="up" accesskey="u" href="System-Utilities.html#System-Utilities">System Utilities</a>
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<h3 class="section">36.2 Filesystem Utilities</h3>
<p>Octave includes many utility functions for copying, moving, renaming, and
deleting files; for creating, reading, and deleting directories; for retrieving
status information on files; and for manipulating file and path names.
<!-- movefile scripts/miscellaneous/movefile.m -->
<p><a name="doc_002dmovefile"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Function File: [<var>status</var>, <var>msg</var>, <var>msgid</var>] = <b>movefile</b> (<var>f1, f2</var>)<var><a name="index-movefile-3151"></a></var><br>
— Function File: [<var>status</var>, <var>msg</var>, <var>msgid</var>] = <b>movefile</b> (<var>f1, f2, 'f'</var>)<var><a name="index-movefile-3152"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Move the file <var>f1</var> to the new name <var>f2</var>. The name <var>f1</var>
may contain globbing patterns. If <var>f1</var> expands to multiple file
names, <var>f2</var> must be a directory. If the force flag 'f' is given
then any existing files will be overwritten without prompting.
<p>If successful, <var>status</var> is 1, with <var>msg</var> and <var>msgid</var> empty
character strings. Otherwise, <var>status</var> is 0, <var>msg</var> contains a
system-dependent error message, and <var>msgid</var> contains a unique
message identifier.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002drename.html#doc_002drename">rename</a>, <a href="doc_002dcopyfile.html#doc_002dcopyfile">copyfile</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- rename src/dirfns.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002drename"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: [<var>err</var>, <var>msg</var>] = <b>rename</b> (<var>old, new</var>)<var><a name="index-rename-3153"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Change the name of file <var>old</var> to <var>new</var>.
<p>If successful, <var>err</var> is 0 and <var>msg</var> is an empty string.
Otherwise, <var>err</var> is nonzero and <var>msg</var> contains a
system-dependent error message.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dls.html#doc_002dls">ls</a>, <a href="doc_002ddir.html#doc_002ddir">dir</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- copyfile scripts/miscellaneous/copyfile.m -->
<p><a name="doc_002dcopyfile"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Function File: [<var>status</var>, <var>msg</var>, <var>msgid</var>] = <b>copyfile</b> (<var>f1, f2</var>)<var><a name="index-copyfile-3154"></a></var><br>
— Function File: [<var>status</var>, <var>msg</var>, <var>msgid</var>] = <b>copyfile</b> (<var>f1, f2, 'f'</var>)<var><a name="index-copyfile-3155"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Copy the file <var>f1</var> to the new name <var>f2</var>. The name <var>f1</var>
may contain globbing patterns. If <var>f1</var> expands to multiple file
names, <var>f2</var> must be a directory. If the force flag 'f' is given then
existing destination files will be overwritten without prompting.
<p>If successful, <var>status</var> is 1, with <var>msg</var> and <var>msgid</var> empty
character strings. Otherwise, <var>status</var> is 0, <var>msg</var> contains a
system-dependent error message, and <var>msgid</var> contains a unique
message identifier.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dmovefile.html#doc_002dmovefile">movefile</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- unlink src/syscalls.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dunlink"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: [<var>err</var>, <var>msg</var>] = <b>unlink</b> (<var>file</var>)<var><a name="index-unlink-3156"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Delete the file named <var>file</var>.
<p>If successful, <var>err</var> is 0 and <var>msg</var> is an empty string.
Otherwise, <var>err</var> is nonzero and <var>msg</var> contains a
system-dependent error message.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- link src/dirfns.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dlink"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: [<var>err</var>, <var>msg</var>] = <b>link</b> (<var>old, new</var>)<var><a name="index-link-3157"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Create a new link (also known as a hard link) to an existing file.
<p>If successful, <var>err</var> is 0 and <var>msg</var> is an empty string.
Otherwise, <var>err</var> is nonzero and <var>msg</var> contains a
system-dependent error message.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dsymlink.html#doc_002dsymlink">symlink</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- symlink src/dirfns.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dsymlink"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: [<var>err</var>, <var>msg</var>] = <b>symlink</b> (<var>old, new</var>)<var><a name="index-symlink-3158"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Create a symbolic link <var>new</var> which contains the string <var>old</var>.
<p>If successful, <var>err</var> is 0 and <var>msg</var> is an empty string.
Otherwise, <var>err</var> is nonzero and <var>msg</var> contains a
system-dependent error message.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dlink.html#doc_002dlink">link</a>, <a href="doc_002dreadlink.html#doc_002dreadlink">readlink</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- readlink src/dirfns.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dreadlink"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: [<var>result</var>, <var>err</var>, <var>msg</var>] = <b>readlink</b> (<var>symlink</var>)<var><a name="index-readlink-3159"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Read the value of the symbolic link <var>symlink</var>.
<p>If successful, <var>result</var> contains the contents of the symbolic link
<var>symlink</var>, <var>err</var> is 0 and <var>msg</var> is an empty string.
Otherwise, <var>err</var> is nonzero and <var>msg</var> contains a
system-dependent error message.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dlink.html#doc_002dlink">link</a>, <a href="doc_002dsymlink.html#doc_002dsymlink">symlink</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- mkdir src/dirfns.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dmkdir"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: [<var>status</var>, <var>msg</var>, <var>msgid</var>] = <b>mkdir</b> (<var>dir</var>)<var><a name="index-mkdir-3160"></a></var><br>
— Built-in Function: [<var>status</var>, <var>msg</var>, <var>msgid</var>] = <b>mkdir</b> (<var>parent, dir</var>)<var><a name="index-mkdir-3161"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Create a directory named <var>dir</var> in the directory <var>parent</var>.
<p>If successful, <var>status</var> is 1, with <var>msg</var> and <var>msgid</var> empty
character strings. Otherwise, <var>status</var> is 0, <var>msg</var> contains a
system-dependent error message, and <var>msgid</var> contains a unique
message identifier.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002drmdir.html#doc_002drmdir">rmdir</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- rmdir src/dirfns.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002drmdir"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: [<var>status</var>, <var>msg</var>, <var>msgid</var>] = <b>rmdir</b> (<var>dir</var>)<var><a name="index-rmdir-3162"></a></var><br>
— Built-in Function: [<var>status</var>, <var>msg</var>, <var>msgid</var>] = <b>rmdir</b> (<var>dir, "s"</var>)<var><a name="index-rmdir-3163"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Remove the directory named <var>dir</var>.
<p>If successful, <var>status</var> is 1, with <var>msg</var> and <var>msgid</var> empty
character strings. Otherwise, <var>status</var> is 0, <var>msg</var> contains a
system-dependent error message, and <var>msgid</var> contains a unique
message identifier.
<p>If the optional second parameter is supplied with value <code>"s"</code>,
recursively remove all subdirectories as well.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dmkdir.html#doc_002dmkdir">mkdir</a>, <a href="doc_002dconfirm_005frecursive_005frmdir.html#doc_002dconfirm_005frecursive_005frmdir">confirm_recursive_rmdir</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- confirm_recursive_rmdir src/dirfns.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dconfirm_005frecursive_005frmdir"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <var>val</var> = <b>confirm_recursive_rmdir</b> ()<var><a name="index-confirm_005frecursive_005frmdir-3164"></a></var><br>
— Built-in Function: <var>old_val</var> = <b>confirm_recursive_rmdir</b> (<var>new_val</var>)<var><a name="index-confirm_005frecursive_005frmdir-3165"></a></var><br>
— Built-in Function: <b>confirm_recursive_rmdir</b> (<var>new_val, "local"</var>)<var><a name="index-confirm_005frecursive_005frmdir-3166"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Query or set the internal variable that controls whether Octave
will ask for confirmation before recursively removing a directory tree.
<p>When called from inside a function with the "local" option, the variable is
changed locally for the function and any subroutines it calls. The original
variable value is restored when exiting the function.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- mkfifo src/syscalls.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dmkfifo"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: [<var>err</var>, <var>msg</var>] = <b>mkfifo</b> (<var>name, mode</var>)<var><a name="index-mkfifo-3167"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Create a <var>fifo</var> special file named <var>name</var> with file mode <var>mode</var>
<p>If successful, <var>err</var> is 0 and <var>msg</var> is an empty string.
Otherwise, <var>err</var> is nonzero and <var>msg</var> contains a
system-dependent error message.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- umask src/file-io.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dumask"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>umask</b> (<var>mask</var>)<var><a name="index-umask-3168"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Set the permission mask for file creation. The parameter <var>mask</var>
is an integer, interpreted as an octal number. If successful,
returns the previous value of the mask (as an integer to be
interpreted as an octal number); otherwise an error message is printed.
</p></blockquote></div>
<p><a name="doc_002dlstat"></a><!-- stat src/syscalls.cc -->
<a name="doc_002dstat"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: [<var>info</var>, <var>err</var>, <var>msg</var>] = <b>stat</b> (<var>file</var>)<var><a name="index-stat-3169"></a></var><br>
— Built-in Function: [<var>info</var>, <var>err</var>, <var>msg</var>] = <b>stat</b> (<var>fid</var>)<var><a name="index-stat-3170"></a></var><br>
— Built-in Function: [<var>info</var>, <var>err</var>, <var>msg</var>] = <b>lstat</b> (<var>file</var>)<var><a name="index-lstat-3171"></a></var><br>
— Built-in Function: [<var>info</var>, <var>err</var>, <var>msg</var>] = <b>lstat</b> (<var>fid</var>)<var><a name="index-lstat-3172"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return a structure <var>info</var> containing the following information about
<var>file</var> or file identifier <var>fid</var>.
<dl>
<dt><code>dev</code><dd>ID of device containing a directory entry for this file.
<br><dt><code>ino</code><dd>File number of the file.
<br><dt><code>mode</code><dd>File mode, as an integer. Use the functions <code>S_ISREG</code><!-- /@w -->,
<code>S_ISDIR</code><!-- /@w -->, <code>S_ISCHR</code><!-- /@w -->, <code>S_ISBLK</code><!-- /@w -->, <code>S_ISFIFO</code><!-- /@w -->,
<code>S_ISLNK</code><!-- /@w -->, or <code>S_ISSOCK</code><!-- /@w --> to extract information from this
value.
<br><dt><code>modestr</code><dd>File mode, as a string of ten letters or dashes as would be returned by
<kbd>ls -l</kbd>.
<br><dt><code>nlink</code><dd>Number of links.
<br><dt><code>uid</code><dd>User ID of file's owner.
<br><dt><code>gid</code><dd>Group ID of file's group.
<br><dt><code>rdev</code><dd>ID of device for block or character special files.
<br><dt><code>size</code><dd>Size in bytes.
<br><dt><code>atime</code><dd>Time of last access in the same form as time values returned from
<code>time</code>. See <a href="Timing-Utilities.html#Timing-Utilities">Timing Utilities</a>.
<br><dt><code>mtime</code><dd>Time of last modification in the same form as time values returned from
<code>time</code>. See <a href="Timing-Utilities.html#Timing-Utilities">Timing Utilities</a>.
<br><dt><code>ctime</code><dd>Time of last file status change in the same form as time values
returned from <code>time</code>. See <a href="Timing-Utilities.html#Timing-Utilities">Timing Utilities</a>.
<br><dt><code>blksize</code><dd>Size of blocks in the file.
<br><dt><code>blocks</code><dd>Number of blocks allocated for file.
</dl>
<p>If the call is successful <var>err</var> is 0 and <var>msg</var> is an empty
string. If the file does not exist, or some other error occurs, <var>s</var>
is an empty matrix, <var>err</var> is −1, and <var>msg</var> contains the
corresponding system error message.
<p>If <var>file</var> is a symbolic link, <code>stat</code> will return information
about the actual file that is referenced by the link. Use <code>lstat</code>
if you want information about the symbolic link itself.
<p>For example:
<pre class="example"> [s, err, msg] = stat ("/vmlinuz")
⇒ s =
{
atime = 855399756
rdev = 0
ctime = 847219094
uid = 0
size = 389218
blksize = 4096
mtime = 847219094
gid = 6
nlink = 1
blocks = 768
mode = -rw-r--r--
modestr = -rw-r--r--
ino = 9316
dev = 2049
}
⇒ err = 0
⇒ msg =
</pre>
</blockquote></div>
<!-- S_ISBLK src/syscalls.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dS_005fISBLK"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>S_ISBLK</b> (<var>mode</var>)<var><a name="index-S_005fISBLK-3173"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return true if <var>mode</var> corresponds to a block device. The value
of <var>mode</var> is assumed to be returned from a call to <code>stat</code>.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dstat.html#doc_002dstat">stat</a>, <a href="doc_002dlstat.html#doc_002dlstat">lstat</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- S_ISCHR src/syscalls.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dS_005fISCHR"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>S_ISCHR</b> (<var>mode</var>)<var><a name="index-S_005fISCHR-3174"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return true if <var>mode</var> corresponds to a character device. The value
of <var>mode</var> is assumed to be returned from a call to <code>stat</code>.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dstat.html#doc_002dstat">stat</a>, <a href="doc_002dlstat.html#doc_002dlstat">lstat</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- S_ISDIR src/syscalls.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dS_005fISDIR"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>S_ISDIR</b> (<var>mode</var>)<var><a name="index-S_005fISDIR-3175"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return true if <var>mode</var> corresponds to a directory. The value
of <var>mode</var> is assumed to be returned from a call to <code>stat</code>.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dstat.html#doc_002dstat">stat</a>, <a href="doc_002dlstat.html#doc_002dlstat">lstat</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- S_ISFIFO src/syscalls.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dS_005fISFIFO"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>S_ISFIFO</b> (<var>mode</var>)<var><a name="index-S_005fISFIFO-3176"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return true if <var>mode</var> corresponds to a fifo. The value
of <var>mode</var> is assumed to be returned from a call to <code>stat</code>.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dstat.html#doc_002dstat">stat</a>, <a href="doc_002dlstat.html#doc_002dlstat">lstat</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- S_ISLNK src/syscalls.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dS_005fISLNK"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>S_ISLNK</b> (<var>mode</var>)<var><a name="index-S_005fISLNK-3177"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return true if <var>mode</var> corresponds to a symbolic link. The value
of <var>mode</var> is assumed to be returned from a call to <code>stat</code>.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dstat.html#doc_002dstat">stat</a>, <a href="doc_002dlstat.html#doc_002dlstat">lstat</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- S_ISREG src/syscalls.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dS_005fISREG"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>S_ISREG</b> (<var>mode</var>)<var><a name="index-S_005fISREG-3178"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return true if <var>mode</var> corresponds to a regular file. The value
of <var>mode</var> is assumed to be returned from a call to <code>stat</code>.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dstat.html#doc_002dstat">stat</a>, <a href="doc_002dlstat.html#doc_002dlstat">lstat</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- S_ISSOCK src/syscalls.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dS_005fISSOCK"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>S_ISSOCK</b> (<var>mode</var>)<var><a name="index-S_005fISSOCK-3179"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return true if <var>mode</var> corresponds to a socket. The value
of <var>mode</var> is assumed to be returned from a call to <code>stat</code>.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dstat.html#doc_002dstat">stat</a>, <a href="doc_002dlstat.html#doc_002dlstat">lstat</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- fileattrib scripts/miscellaneous/fileattrib.m -->
<p><a name="doc_002dfileattrib"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Function File: [<var>status</var>, <var>result</var>, <var>msgid</var>] = <b>fileattrib</b> (<var>file</var>)<var><a name="index-fileattrib-3180"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return information about <var>file</var>.
<p>If successful, <var>status</var> is 1, with <var>result</var> containing a
structure with the following fields:
<dl>
<dt><code>Name</code><dd>Full name of <var>file</var>.
<br><dt><code>archive</code><dd>True if <var>file</var> is an archive (Windows).
<br><dt><code>system</code><dd>True if <var>file</var> is a system file (Windows).
<br><dt><code>hidden</code><dd>True if <var>file</var> is a hidden file (Windows).
<br><dt><code>directory</code><dd>True if <var>file</var> is a directory.
<br><dt><code>UserRead</code><dt><code>GroupRead</code><dt><code>OtherRead</code><dd>True if the user (group; other users) has read permission for
<var>file</var>.
<br><dt><code>UserWrite</code><dt><code>GroupWrite</code><dt><code>OtherWrite</code><dd>True if the user (group; other users) has write permission for
<var>file</var>.
<br><dt><code>UserExecute</code><dt><code>GroupExecute</code><dt><code>OtherExecute</code><dd>True if the user (group; other users) has execute permission for
<var>file</var>.
</dl>
If an attribute does not apply (i.e., archive on a Unix system) then
the field is set to NaN.
<p>With no input arguments, return information about the current
directory.
<p>If <var>file</var> contains globbing characters, return information about
all the matching files.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dglob.html#doc_002dglob">glob</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- isdir scripts/general/isdir.m -->
<p><a name="doc_002disdir"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Function File: <b>isdir</b> (<var>f</var>)<var><a name="index-isdir-3181"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return true if <var>f</var> is a directory.
<!-- Texinfo @sp should work but in practice produces ugly results for HTML. -->
<!-- A simple blank line produces the correct behavior. -->
<!-- @sp 1 -->
<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dis_005fabsolute_005ffilename.html#doc_002dis_005fabsolute_005ffilename">is_absolute_filename</a>, <a href="doc_002dis_005frooted_005frelative_005ffilename.html#doc_002dis_005frooted_005frelative_005ffilename">is_rooted_relative_filename</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- readdir src/dirfns.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dreaddir"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: [<var>files</var>, <var>err</var>, <var>msg</var>] = <b>readdir</b> (<var>dir</var>)<var><a name="index-readdir-3182"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return names of the files in the directory <var>dir</var> as a cell array of
strings. If an error occurs, return an empty cell array in <var>files</var>.
<p>If successful, <var>err</var> is 0 and <var>msg</var> is an empty string.
Otherwise, <var>err</var> is nonzero and <var>msg</var> contains a
system-dependent error message.
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<!-- A simple blank line produces the correct behavior. -->
<!-- @sp 1 -->
<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dls.html#doc_002dls">ls</a>, <a href="doc_002ddir.html#doc_002ddir">dir</a>, <a href="doc_002dglob.html#doc_002dglob">glob</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- glob src/dirfns.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dglob"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>glob</b> (<var>pattern</var>)<var><a name="index-glob-3183"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Given an array of pattern strings (as a char array or a cell array) in
<var>pattern</var>, return a cell array of file names that match any of
them, or an empty cell array if no patterns match. The pattern strings are
interpreted as filename globbing patterns (as they are used by Unix shells).
Within a pattern
<dl>
<dt><code>*</code><dd>matches any string, including the null string,
<dt><code>?</code><dd>matches any single character, and
<br><dt><code>[...]</code><dd>matches any of the enclosed characters.
</dl>
<p>Tilde expansion
is performed on each of the patterns before looking for matching file
names. For example:
<pre class="example"> ls
⇒
file1 file2 file3 myfile1 myfile1b
glob ("*file1")
⇒
{
[1,1] = file1
[2,1] = myfile1
}
glob ("myfile?")
⇒
{
[1,1] = myfile1
}
glob ("file[12]")
⇒
{
[1,1] = file1
[2,1] = file2
}
</pre>
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dls.html#doc_002dls">ls</a>, <a href="doc_002ddir.html#doc_002ddir">dir</a>, <a href="doc_002dreaddir.html#doc_002dreaddir">readdir</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- fnmatch src/dirfns.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dfnmatch"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>fnmatch</b> (<var>pattern, string</var>)<var><a name="index-fnmatch-3184"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return 1 or zero for each element of <var>string</var> that matches any of
the elements of the string array <var>pattern</var>, using the rules of
filename pattern matching. For example:
<pre class="example"> fnmatch ("a*b", {"ab"; "axyzb"; "xyzab"})
⇒ [ 1; 1; 0 ]
</pre>
</blockquote></div>
<!-- file_in_path src/utils.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dfile_005fin_005fpath"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>file_in_path</b> (<var>path, file</var>)<var><a name="index-file_005fin_005fpath-3185"></a></var><br>
— Built-in Function: <b>file_in_path</b> (<var>path, file, "all"</var>)<var><a name="index-file_005fin_005fpath-3186"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return the absolute name of <var>file</var> if it can be found in
<var>path</var>. The value of <var>path</var> should be a colon-separated list of
directories in the format described for <code>path</code>. If no file
is found, return an empty character string. For example:
<pre class="example"> file_in_path (EXEC_PATH, "sh")
⇒ "/bin/sh"
</pre>
<p>If the second argument is a cell array of strings, search each
directory of the path for element of the cell array and return
the first that matches.
<p>If the third optional argument <code>"all"</code> is supplied, return
a cell array containing the list of all files that have the same
name in the path. If no files are found, return an empty cell array.
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dfile_005fin_005floadpath.html#doc_002dfile_005fin_005floadpath">file_in_loadpath</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- filesep src/dirfns.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dfilesep"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>filesep</b> ()<var><a name="index-filesep-3187"></a></var><br>
— Built-in Function: <b>filesep</b> (<var>'all'</var>)<var><a name="index-filesep-3188"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return the system-dependent character used to separate directory names.
<p>If 'all' is given, the function returns all valid file separators in
the form of a string. The list of file separators is system-dependent.
It is ‘<samp><span class="samp">/</span></samp>’ (forward slash) under UNIX or Mac OS X<!-- /@w -->, ‘<samp><span class="samp">/</span></samp>’ and
‘<samp><span class="samp">\</span></samp>’ (forward and backward slashes) under Windows.
<!-- Texinfo @sp should work but in practice produces ugly results for HTML. -->
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<!-- @sp 1 -->
<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dpathsep.html#doc_002dpathsep">pathsep</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- filemarker src/input.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dfilemarker"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <var>val</var> = <b>filemarker</b> ()<var><a name="index-filemarker-3189"></a></var><br>
— Built-in Function: <b>filemarker</b> (<var>new_val</var>)<var><a name="index-filemarker-3190"></a></var><br>
— Built-in Function: <b>filemarker</b> (<var>new_val, "local"</var>)<var><a name="index-filemarker-3191"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Query or set the character used to separate filename from the
the subfunction names contained within the file. This can be used in
a generic manner to interact with subfunctions. For example,
<pre class="example"> help (["myfunc", filemarker, "mysubfunc"])
</pre>
<p class="noindent">returns the help string associated with the sub-function <code>mysubfunc</code>
of the function <code>myfunc</code>. Another use of <code>filemarker</code> is when
debugging it allows easier placement of breakpoints within sub-functions.
For example,
<pre class="example"> dbstop (["myfunc", filemarker, "mysubfunc"])
</pre>
<p class="noindent">will set a breakpoint at the first line of the subfunction <code>mysubfunc</code>.
<p>When called from inside a function with the "local" option, the variable is
changed locally for the function and any subroutines it calls. The original
variable value is restored when exiting the function.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- fileparts scripts/miscellaneous/fileparts.m -->
<p><a name="doc_002dfileparts"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Function File: [<var>dir</var>, <var>name</var>, <var>ext</var>, <var>ver</var>] = <b>fileparts</b> (<var>filename</var>)<var><a name="index-fileparts-3192"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return the directory, name, extension, and version components of
<var>filename</var>.
<!-- Texinfo @sp should work but in practice produces ugly results for HTML. -->
<!-- A simple blank line produces the correct behavior. -->
<!-- @sp 1 -->
<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dfullfile.html#doc_002dfullfile">fullfile</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- fullfile scripts/miscellaneous/fullfile.m -->
<p><a name="doc_002dfullfile"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Function File: <var>filename</var> = <b>fullfile</b> (<var>dir1, dir2, <small class="dots">...</small>, file</var>)<var><a name="index-fullfile-3193"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return a complete filename constructed from the given components.
<!-- Texinfo @sp should work but in practice produces ugly results for HTML. -->
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<!-- @sp 1 -->
<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dfileparts.html#doc_002dfileparts">fileparts</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- tilde_expand src/sysdep.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dtilde_005fexpand"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>tilde_expand</b> (<var>string</var>)<var><a name="index-tilde_005fexpand-3194"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Perform tilde expansion on <var>string</var>. If <var>string</var> begins with a
tilde character, (‘<samp><span class="samp">~</span></samp>’), all of the characters preceding the first
slash (or all characters, if there is no slash) are treated as a
possible user name, and the tilde and the following characters up to the
slash are replaced by the home directory of the named user. If the
tilde is followed immediately by a slash, the tilde is replaced by the
home directory of the user running Octave. For example:
<pre class="example"> tilde_expand ("~joeuser/bin")
⇒ "/home/joeuser/bin"
tilde_expand ("~/bin")
⇒ "/home/jwe/bin"
</pre>
</blockquote></div>
<!-- canonicalize_file_name src/syscalls.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dcanonicalize_005ffile_005fname"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: [<var>cname</var>, <var>status</var>, <var>msg</var>] <b>canonicalize_file_name</b> (<var>name</var>)<var><a name="index-canonicalize_005ffile_005fname-3195"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return the canonical name of file <var>name</var>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- make_absolute_filename src/utils.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dmake_005fabsolute_005ffilename"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>make_absolute_filename</b> (<var>file</var>)<var><a name="index-make_005fabsolute_005ffilename-3196"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return the full name of <var>file</var>, relative to the current directory.
<!-- Texinfo @sp should work but in practice produces ugly results for HTML. -->
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<!-- @sp 1 -->
<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dis_005fabsolute_005ffilename.html#doc_002dis_005fabsolute_005ffilename">is_absolute_filename</a>, <a href="doc_002dis_005frooted_005frelative_005ffilename.html#doc_002dis_005frooted_005frelative_005ffilename">is_rooted_relative_filename</a>, <a href="doc_002disdir.html#doc_002disdir">isdir</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- is_absolute_filename src/utils.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dis_005fabsolute_005ffilename"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>is_absolute_filename</b> (<var>file</var>)<var><a name="index-is_005fabsolute_005ffilename-3197"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return true if <var>file</var> is an absolute filename.
<!-- Texinfo @sp should work but in practice produces ugly results for HTML. -->
<!-- A simple blank line produces the correct behavior. -->
<!-- @sp 1 -->
<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dis_005frooted_005frelative_005ffilename.html#doc_002dis_005frooted_005frelative_005ffilename">is_rooted_relative_filename</a>, <a href="doc_002dmake_005fabsolute_005ffilename.html#doc_002dmake_005fabsolute_005ffilename">make_absolute_filename</a>, <a href="doc_002disdir.html#doc_002disdir">isdir</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- is_rooted_relative_filename src/utils.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dis_005frooted_005frelative_005ffilename"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>is_rooted_relative_filename</b> (<var>file</var>)<var><a name="index-is_005frooted_005frelative_005ffilename-3198"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return true if <var>file</var> is a rooted-relative filename.
<!-- Texinfo @sp should work but in practice produces ugly results for HTML. -->
<!-- A simple blank line produces the correct behavior. -->
<!-- @sp 1 -->
<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dis_005fabsolute_005ffilename.html#doc_002dis_005fabsolute_005ffilename">is_absolute_filename</a>, <a href="doc_002dmake_005fabsolute_005ffilename.html#doc_002dmake_005fabsolute_005ffilename">make_absolute_filename</a>, <a href="doc_002disdir.html#doc_002disdir">isdir</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- P_tmpdir src/file-io.cc -->
<p><a name="doc_002dP_005ftmpdir"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Built-in Function: <b>P_tmpdir</b> ()<var><a name="index-P_005ftmpdir-3199"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return the default name of the directory for temporary files on
this system. The name of this directory is system dependent.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- tempdir scripts/miscellaneous/tempdir.m -->
<p><a name="doc_002dtempdir"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Function File: <var>dir</var> = <b>tempdir</b> ()<var><a name="index-tempdir-3200"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Return the name of the system's directory for temporary files.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- tempname scripts/miscellaneous/tempname.m -->
<p><a name="doc_002dtempname"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Function File: <b>tempname</b> ()<var><a name="index-tempname-3201"></a></var><br>
— Function File: <b>tempname</b> (<var>dir</var>)<var><a name="index-tempname-3202"></a></var><br>
— Function File: <b>tempname</b> (<var>dir, prefix</var>)<var><a name="index-tempname-3203"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>This function is an alias for <code>tmpnam</code>.
<!-- Texinfo @sp should work but in practice produces ugly results for HTML. -->
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002dtmpnam.html#doc_002dtmpnam">tmpnam</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
<!-- recycle scripts/miscellaneous/recycle.m -->
<p><a name="doc_002drecycle"></a>
<div class="defun">
— Function File: <var>current_state</var> <b>recycle</b> ()<var><a name="index-recycle-3204"></a></var><br>
— Function File: <var>old_state</var> <b>recycle</b> (<var>new_state</var>)<var><a name="index-recycle-3205"></a></var><br>
<blockquote><p>Query or set the preference for recycling deleted files.
<p>Recycling files instead of permanently deleting them is currently not
implemented in Octave. To help avoid accidental data loss it
is an error to attempt enable file recycling.
<!-- Texinfo @sp should work but in practice produces ugly results for HTML. -->
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<p class="noindent"><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="doc_002ddelete.html#doc_002ddelete">delete</a>.
</p></blockquote></div>
</body></html>
