problem in checking if directory exists

denzil_cactus has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hi Monks,

I am getting problem in checking if any directory exists my code is

unless(-d $dir)
{
`mkdir -p $dir`;
}
[download]

here I want to put the flag if the directory exists then no need to mkdir again but I am getting the following error

mkdir: cannot make directory: /usr/spool/uucppublic/sent/bki_prod: Fil
+e exists (error 17)
mkdir: cannot make directory: /usr/spool/uucppublic/sent/bki_prod: Fil
+e exists (error 17)
[download]

even the directory exists.

suggest me if I am doing anything wrong here.

Thanks

Comment on problem in checking if directory exists Select or Download Code

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Re: problem in checking if directory exists by moritz (Cardinal) on Mar 31, 2008 at 08:47 UTC
"file exists" means that there is a file of the same name (but it's not a directory in your case). You can check with `-e $dir` if it exists, and remove it with unlink if it's an ordinary file.	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: problem in checking if directory exists by denzil_cactus (Sexton) on Mar 31, 2008 at 09:04 UTC
[denzil_cactus]: unless(-d $dir){ `mkdir $dir`;}is this code correct i +f I want to check the directory exists or not? [moritz]: use if (-d $dir) [ysth]: no, the -d could fail if you don't have access (but then you p +robably wouldn't be able to do the mkdir either [ysth]: and use perl's mkdir, not the shell [ysth]: mkdir [ysth]: err, I mean the -d could fail but the directory already exist [moritz]: yes, then use -e instead [moritz]: or whatever test you're feeling lucky with ;-) [ysth]: if you may need to create multiple levels of directory (say, c +reate foo/bar/baz where only foo exists), use File::Path::mkpath (in +an eval {} ) [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re^3: problem in checking if directory exists by moritz (Cardinal) on Mar 31, 2008 at 09:17 UTC
So did it work that way? If not, what's your current code, what's the error message, and how does the directory look like?	[reply]
Re^4: problem in checking if directory exists by denzil_cactus (Sexton) on Mar 31, 2008 at 13:18 UTC
Re: problem in checking if directory exists by jwkrahn (Abbot) on Mar 31, 2008 at 08:37 UTC
Instead of using `mkdir -p $dir` use the `mkpath` function in File::Path.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: problem in checking if directory exists by roboticus (Chancellor) on Mar 31, 2008 at 12:35 UTC
denzil cactus: One thought occurs to me: if you got `$dir` from the user and forgot to chomp it, you'll have a trailing EOL in it. The `mkdir -p $dir` won't care about it, but `-d $dir` might. (I've not tested it, so I'm not certain.) If that's the case, then `-d` would report that the directory "foo\n" doesn't exist even when "foo" does, causing mkdir to run each time you execute your code. ...roboticus	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: problem in checking if directory exists by parv (Parson) on Mar 31, 2008 at 10:50 UTC
Why not just invoke `mkdir -p`, or `mkpath` equivalent, instead of checking the existence before hand? Nothing is gained in doing that in two steps (unless somebody corrects me).	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: problem in checking if directory exists by Anonymous Monk on Mar 31, 2008 at 10:46 UTC
`#!/usr/bin/perl use strict; use warnings; unless (-d '/some/user/directory') { mkdir '/some/user/directory'; } else { print "Directory exists", "\n"; }` [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re: problem in checking if directory exists by Anonymous Monk on Mar 31, 2008 at 07:39 UTC
`perldoc -f mkdir`	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: problem in checking if directory exists by denzil_cactus (Sexton) on Mar 31, 2008 at 08:38 UTC
Thanks for the reply Anonymous monk Well you didnt follow my question here.I am asking about the unless code `unless(-d $dir) { }` [download] mkdir comand I know.	[reply] [d/l]
Re^3: problem in checking if directory exists by cdarke (Prior) on Mar 31, 2008 at 12:13 UTC
mkdir comand I know. That's the point, you are not calling the Perl mkdir command, you are spawning a child process to run an external program called mkdir. The error is comming from the external program, not from perl.	[reply]