How to see if a file exists

Hello,

I'm beyond a newbie for "C/C++" ...but I've worked with dos/bash/novell login scripts etc. a little over the years. Basically it boils down to this.

I need my simple little C app to check if a file exists and if so EXIT.
If not then continue running the rest of the program.

Thank you for any info.

Check the tutorials on this website (Cprogramming.com) for file access. It's all there.

>I need my simple little C app to check if a file exists and if so EXIT.
>If not then continue running the rest of the program.
That's simple enough, just open the file:

Code:

---

ifstream in ( "myfile" );

if ( in )
  exit ( status );

---

Granted, that's making a few assumptions about permissions and such, but for the most part it's a solid and trivial way to check for the existence of a file.

I tried the following and all I get is compile errors.
I applogize for my ignorance in the syntax/understanding of C, it seems this won't be as easy as I thought. I don't want to ask someone to write the code

Thank you for trying to help though.

Here's what I tried.

// Begin File Check
ifstream in ( "c:\test.txt" );
if ( in )
exit ( status );
// End File Check

The errors I get are.

'ifstream' does not name a type
expected unqualified-id defore "if"
expected '; or '; before "if"

Im using Dev-C++ 4.9.9.2

1. include fstream class library
2. qualify it with std.

To use ifstream, add the following at the top of your program:

Code:

---

#include <fstream>
using namespace std;

---

Also:
>ifstream in ( "c:\test.txt" );
To include a backslash in a string, you must use two, as a backslash is the escape character in a string (for example \n for newline):

Code:

---

ifstream in ( "c:\\test.txt" );

---

Thank you for the replies, this board has some wonderful people. I've never had such great willingness to help out.

Here's what I have now.

#include <fstream>
using namespace std;

// Begin File Check
ifstream in ( "c:\\test.txt" );
if ( in )
exit ( status );
// End File Check

I now only get the following errors.
expected unqualified-id defore "if"
expected '; or '; before "if"

I'll dig around on those when I get back.
Once again thank you for all the help.

Take care.

It's because you seem to be writing code outside of functions.

Like so

Code:

---

#include <fstream>
using namespace std;
int main ( ) {
  // Begin File Check
  ifstream in ( "c:\\test.txt" );
  if ( in )
    exit ( status );
  // End File Check
  return 0;
}

---

Notice how neat the code looks - use [code][/code] tags.

It would also be a good idea to define status:

Code:

---

#include <fstream>

using namespace std;

namespace {
  int status = 0; // Default to success
}

int main()
{
  // Begin File Check
  ifstream in ( "c:\\test.txt" );

  if ( in )
    exit ( status );
  // End File Check
}

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Prelude

>I need my simple little C app to check if a file exists and if so EXIT.
>If not then continue running the rest of the program.
That's simple enough, just open the file:

Code:

---

ifstream in ( "myfile" );

if ( in )
  exit ( status );

---

Granted, that's making a few assumptions about permissions and such, but for the most part it's a solid and trivial way to check for the existence of a file.

---

Is the above "if" statement similar to the following?

Code:

---

if(in.is_open())

---

Are there any differences?

>Is the above "if" statement similar to the following?
Pretty much.

>Are there any differences?
None that are likely to cause you any problems.

Ok....it's now compiling without errors....however it's not moving to the next section. Seems to exit no matter what.

Basically I want it to check for the file and if it's there stop all execution, if the file isn't there....then run the next part of the code.

Let me give you a sample of the code. Everything works as it should when complied. (just not with the new part "Added/End Added")

Code:

---

#include <windows.h>
--------------------------- Added -------------------------------------
#include <fstream>

// Begin File Check
using namespace std;
 namespace {
  int status = 0; // Default to success
 }
int main()
{
  // Begin File Check
  ifstream in ( "c:\\Program Files\\test\\test-test\\test.exe" );
  if ( in )
    exit ( status );
}
// End File Check
-------------------------- End Added -------------------------------

DWORD BeQuiet(char* strFunct, char* strstrParams);

int WINAPI WinMain (HINSTANCE hThisInstance,
                    HINSTANCE hPrevInstance,
                    LPSTR lpszArgument,
                    int nFunsterStil)
                    {

  //XP installer for test server

    BeQuiet("cscript.exe", "testinstall\\test\\testreg.vbs");
    BeQuiet("testinstall\\test\\test.exe", "");
    BeQuiet("testinstall\\testdir\\testsetup.exe", "");
    BeQuiet("cscript.exe", "testinstall\\testrem\\testcleanreg.vbs");

---

and so on........


Thank you.

>Seems to exit no matter what.
That's because when the program's execution falls off the end of the main function, it exits. Keep in mind that we're giving you minimal code to show the technique of a solution, not a complete working solution. You have to add what we left out.

And also - seeing WinMain in your code I thinkg you are creating GUI application

In this case you don't need main function

create another function with the code that tests the existence of the file
return true if it exists and false - otherwise
Call it for each file you need to check and decide if you want to continue based on the return value

>>Let me give you a sample of the code. Everything works as it should when complied. (just not with the new part "Added/End Added")

That's because you didn't indicate you had a running program using Windows API already. The solution(s) provided were focused on console applications, not Windows. Each program should have only 1 entry point, that being a function called main(). In C and C++ console programs that syntax is:

int main()

but in Windows API its:

int WINAPI WinMain()

This might work a little better for you:

Code:

---

#include <windows.h>
#include <fstream>

// Begin File Check
using namespace std;

 namespace {
  int status = 0; // Default to success
 }
 
DWORD BeQuiet(char* strFunct, char* strstrParams);

int WINAPI WinMain (HINSTANCE hThisInstance,
                    HINSTANCE hPrevInstance,
                    LPSTR lpszArgument,
                    int nFunsterStil)
{
  //. . . . .
  // Begin File Check within WinMain()
  ifstream in ( "c:\\Program Files\\test\\test-test\\test.exe" );
  if ( in )
    exit ( status );


    BeQuiet("cscript.exe", "testinstall\\test\\testreg.vbs");
    //. . . . .
}

---

Unfortunately, even that may not provide what you want, though without more code it's not possible to say what you need.

You should be aware that the native WinAPI functions are written in C and C uses pointers to type FILE to access files, not streams, though you can use streams as long as you compile the code using a C++ compiler rather than a C compiler. (You compiler can probably compile code using either C or C++ criteria based on which you tell it to do).

Also, it's not easy to code using WinAPI, particular for newbies. I'd stick to console programming for a while before venturing into programming with WinAPI if you want to understand what's going on besides just learning what to do. Alternatively, if you want to write Windows applications with a quicker learning curve, (for most people anyway), then there's always Visual Basic or one of the other languages that allows you to write Windows apps, too.