in reply to How do I know if I can delete a file/folder?

If you are in a *nix it's easy. To delete a file (in a directory you can get to) you must have write permissions for that directory. So all you have to do is successfully open a file in the same directory.

For a more OS independant solution copy the file (cp -p) to a backup file then delete the original

As a note when you ask a question that is heavily dependant on a specific OS please include that information

UPDATE: Changed modern version of linux to *nix



grep
Just me, the boy and these two monks, no questions asked.
  • Comment on Re: How do I know if I can delete a file/folder?

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Re: Re: How do I know if I can delete a file/folder?
by mitd (Curate) on Jul 26, 2002 at 06:50 UTC
    Sorry grep I had to down vote your node because at worse is just wrong and at best its misleading.

    If you are in a modern version of linux it's easy
    What does 'modern linux' mean? The basic operation of *nix file permission and ownership mechanisms have been around since before my beard started turning grey.

    To delete a file (in a directory you can get to) you must have write permissions for that directory.
    Not complete, you must also have write permissions on the file. What if the directory is 777 but he file is 644 and owned by root or file is owned by you and is 444? Try this: 

    Prologue
drwxrwxrwx    2 mitd mitd 4096 Jul 26 02:36 testdir
-r--r--r--    1 mitd mitd  0 Jul 26 02:36 testdir/myfile

perl -e 'open(FILE,">myfile") or die $!'

    [download]

    For a more OS independant solution copy the file (cp -p) to a backup file then delete the original
    'OS' dependent true but then you quote a *nix dependent command with no regard to what the ownership permissions conditions might be,

    mitd-Made in the Dark
    'Interactive! Paper tape is interactive!
    If you don't believe me I can show you my paper cut scars!'

[reply]
[d/l]

      Not complete, you must also have write permissions on the file. What if the directory is 777 but he file is 644 and owned by root or file is owned by you and is 444?

      Nope on unix if you have write permission to the directory you can delete the file, even if it is owned by root and not even readable by you, on Solaris it comes up with a "override protection 600" prompt and then it is gone, tested on BSD and Linux as well.

      --
      Until you've lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is. -Margaret Mitchell

[reply]

      Hello,

      Well, you are wrong. When you delete a file, you are actually changing the directory that the file is in, so write access to that directory is sufficient. When you change the contents of the file, eh, you are actually changing the file itself, so you need write access to the file (write access to the directory is not needed). Your demonstration is in no way related to the question asked.

      Since the original question asks about deleting, then write access to the directory is the right answer, therefore grep is not wrong.

      --
      Alper Ersoy

[reply]
      I put a plus vote for this, not because grep was wrong, but because mitd sent a reply, not just clicked in the radio! I think that any type of post trying to help another user is valid.

      "The creativity is the expression of the liberty".
[reply]

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