How to use php to delete files

In the process of writing applications, file deletion is a very common task. In many cases, PHP is a convenient, fast and effective way to delete files. In this article, we will take a deep dive into how to delete files using PHP language.

1. PHP delete files

In PHP, you can use the unlink() function to delete files. The following is the basic syntax for deleting files using the unlink() function:

unlink("filename");

where filename is the name and full path of the file to be deleted.

The following is a sample program that demonstrates how to use the unlink() function to delete a file:

<?php
$file = "C:/xampp/htdocs/test.txt";

// 判断文件是否存在
if (file_exists($file)) {
    // 删除文件
    if (unlink($file)) {
        echo "$file 删除成功。";
    } else {
        echo "$file 删除失败。";
    }
} else {
    echo "$file 不存在。";
}
?>

The program first checks whether the specified file exists. If the file exists, use the unlink() function to delete it. If the deletion is successful, the program will output a message that the file was deleted successfully. Otherwise, the program will output a message that the file deletion failed.

You can use a relative path or an absolute path to specify the file to be deleted. If you use a relative path, the file will be searched starting in the current working directory.

2. Delete multiple files

In addition to deleting a single file, PHP can also delete multiple files. Here is a sample program that demonstrates how to delete multiple files using PHP:

<?php
$files = array("C:/xampp/htdocs/test1.txt", "C:/xampp/htdocs/test2.txt", "C:/xampp/htdocs/test3.txt");

foreach ($files as $file) {
    if (file_exists($file)) {
        if (unlink($file)) {
            echo "$file 删除成功。<br/>";
        } else {
            echo "$file 删除失败。<br/>";
        }
    }
}
?>

The program uses an array to store the files to be deleted. Then iterate through the array and use the unlink() function to delete each file. If the file is successfully deleted, the program will output a file deletion success message. Otherwise, the program will output a message that the file deletion failed.

3. Delete a folder

In PHP, in addition to deleting files, you can also delete the entire folder and its contents. To delete a folder, you can use the rmdir() function. The following is the basic syntax for deleting a folder using the rmdir() function:

rmdir("dirname");

where dirname is the name and full path of the folder to be deleted.

The following is a sample program that demonstrates how to delete a folder using the rmdir() function:

<?php
$dir = "C:/xampp/htdocs/mydir";

// 判断文件夹是否存在
if (file_exists($dir)) {
    // 删除文件夹
    if (rmdir($dir)) {
        echo "$dir 删除成功。";
    } else {
        echo "$dir 删除失败。";
    }
} else {
    echo "$dir 不存在。";
}
?>

The program first checks whether the specified folder exists. If the folder exists, use the rmdir() function to delete it. If the deletion is successful, the program will output a message that the folder was deleted successfully. Otherwise, the program will output a message that the folder deletion failed.

It should be noted that the rmdir() function can only delete empty folders. If a folder contains files or subfolders, it cannot be deleted. In order to delete a non-empty folder, you can use the unlink() function to delete the files within it, and use recursive calls to delete subfolders.

4. Summary

In PHP, using the unlink() function can delete files conveniently, quickly and effectively. If you want to delete multiple files or folders, you need to use a loop or recursive call to do it. Always make sure the file or folder exists before deleting it, otherwise an error will occur.

Hope this article can help you understand how to use PHP language to delete files.

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