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read_directory(+Directory, +Pattern, -SubdirList, -FileList)

Unifies SubdirList with a list of subdirectories and FileList with a list of matching files in the specified directory.

Directory: Atom or String
Pattern: Atom or String
SubdirList: Free variable or (maybe partial) list of strings
FileList: Free variable or (maybe partial) list of strings

Description

read_directory/4 scans the directory specified by Directory. It collects the names of the subdirectories in SubdirList and the names of the files matching Pattern in FileList. SubdirList and FileList are lists of strings. Pattern is a string containing a filename specification similar to the usual UNIX convention. The metacharacters recognised are: * matches an arbitrary sequence of characters, ? matches any single character, [] matches one of the characters inside the brackets unless the first one is a ^ in which case it matches any character but those inside the brackets.

Filenames beginning with a dot are not suppressed by default, but the directories "." and ".." are omitted from SubdirList.

Modes and Determinism

read_directory(+, +, -, -) is det

Exceptions

(4) instantiation fault: Directory or Pattern is not instantiated.
(5) type error: Directory or Pattern is neither atom nor string.
(5) type error: SubdirList or FileList are instantiated, but not to lists.
(170) system interface error: An error occurred trying to access Directory.

Examples

   Success:
   [eclipse]: read_directory("/usr/john", "*", Dirlist, Filelist).
   Dirlist = ["subdir1", "subdir2"]
   Filelist = ["one.c", "two.c", "three.pl", "four.pl"]
   yes.
   [eclipse]: read_directory(., "[^t]*.pl", Dirlist, Filelist).
   Dirlist = ["subdir1", "subdir2"]
   Filelist = ["four.pl"]
   yes.
   Fail:
   [eclipse]: read_directory(".", "*.c", _, ["one.c"]).
   no.
   Error:
   read_directory(_, "*", Dirs, Files).          (error 4)
   read_directory([46], "*", Dirs, Files).       (error 5)
   read_directory(".", _, Dirs, Files).          (error 4)
   read_directory(".", 3, Dirs, Files).          (error 5)
   read_directory(".", "*.pl", Dirs, file).      (error 5)
   read_directory("/private", "*", _, Files).    (error 170)


    % EXAMPLE: find_tree(+Root, +Pattern, -ListOfRelativeFiles)
    % Recursively find all files matching Pattern below the directory
    % or list of directories Roots.

    find_tree(Root, Pattern, AllFiles) :- (atom(Root);string(Root)), !,
	    find_dir(Root, "", "", Pattern, AllFiles, []).
    find_tree(Roots, Pattern, AllFiles) :-
	    find_tree(Roots, Pattern, AllFiles, []).

    find_tree([], _Pattern, AllFiles, AllFiles).
    find_tree([Root|Roots], Pattern, AllFiles, AllFiles0) :-
	    find_dir(Root, "", "", Pattern, AllFiles, AllFiles1),
	    find_tree(Roots, Pattern, AllFiles1, AllFiles0).

    find_dir(_, _, [], _, AllFiles, AllFiles) :- !.
    find_dir(Root, RelPath, [Dir|Dirs], Pattern, AllFiles, AllFiles0) :- !,
	    find_dir(Root, RelPath, Dir, Pattern, AllFiles, AllFiles1),
	    find_dir(Root, RelPath, Dirs, Pattern, AllFiles1, AllFiles0).
    find_dir(Root, RelPath, Dir, Pattern, AllFiles, AllFiles0) :-
	    ( RelPath=="" -> RelDir=Dir
	    ; concat_string([RelPath,/,Dir], RelDir) ),
	    ( RelDir=="" -> AbsDir=Root
	    ; concat_string([Root,/,RelDir], AbsDir) ),
	    read_directory(AbsDir, Pattern, SubDirs, Files),
	    find_files(Root, RelDir, Files, AllFiles, AllFiles1),
	    find_dir(Root, RelDir, SubDirs, Pattern, AllFiles1, AllFiles0).

    find_files(_, _, [], AbsFiles, AbsFiles).
    find_files(Root, RelDir, [File|Files], [AbsFile|AbsFiles], AbsFiles0) :-
	    ( RelDir=="" -> concat_string([Root,/,File], AbsFile)
	    ; concat_string([Root,/,RelDir,/,File], AbsFile) ),
	    find_files(Root, RelDir, Files, AbsFiles, AbsFiles0).

read_directory(+Directory, +Pattern, -SubdirList, -FileList)

Description

Modes and Determinism

Exceptions

Examples

See Also