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Re: Checking whether a file exists
From: |
Ben Abbott |
Subject: |
Re: Checking whether a file exists |
Date: |
Fri, 7 Mar 2008 06:58:39 -0500 |
On Mar 7, 2008, at 5:24 AM, Primoz PETERLIN wrote:
Hello everyone,
Time for another novice question...
What is the best way to check whether a data file exists (in order
to avoid its accidental overwriting)?
1) The function exist() is supposed to return 2 "if the name (after
appending `.m') is a function file in Octave's `path'", but it also
returns 2 if a file is a data file in my search path, e.g., my
current working directory. Is this the intended behaviour and
something I should rely on, or is it just some side effect which can
vanish in the next release of Octave. In the former case, the
documentation should probably explicitely say so (Matlab
documentation claims that exist(name) returns 2 "If name is an M-
file on your MATLABĀ® search path. It also returns 2 when name is the
full pathname to a file or the name of an ordinary file on your
MATLAB search path. ").
2) stat() also does the job, but I believe it is not available in
Matlab?
TIA, Primoz
Regarding how exist() functions in Octave, it is intended to be
consistent with Matlab. If is it not, or if you'd like to see the
documentation changed we're all volunteers, and would like to see more!
You can find the sources here: http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/download.html
Instructions for bug reports are here:
http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/bugs.html
In any event, with regards to your present question; take a look at
"dir" and "what"
Ben