unlink - Delete File

Syntax

#include <stdio.h>  /* also in <io.h> */
int unlink(const char *pathname);

Description

unlink deletes the file specified by pathname.

Portability Note For portability, use the ANSI/ISO function remove instead of unlink.

Returns

unlink returns 0 if the file is successfully deleted. A return value of -1 indicates an error, and errno is set to one of the following values: compact break=fit.

Value

Meaning
EACCESS
The path name specifies a read-only file or a directory.
EISOPEN
The file is open.
ENOENT
An incorrect path name was specified, or the file or path name was not found.
Example Code

This example deletes the file tmpfile from the system or prints an error message if unable to delete it.

#include <stdio.h>
int main(void)
{
   if (-1 == unlink("tmpfile"))
      perror("Cannot delete tmpfile");
   else
      printf("tmpfile has been successfully deleted\n");
   return 0;

   /****************************************************************************
      If the file "tmpfile" exists, the output should be:

      tmpfile has been successfully deleted
   ****************************************************************************/
}

Related Information

• remove
  
• rmtmp

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