Checking whether a file exists

[Primoz PETERLIN]

Please find attached a patch for octave-3.0.0/src/variables.cc which updates
the "help" text.

All the best,
Primož

2008/3/7, Ben Abbott <bpabbott at mac.com>:
>
>
> On Mar 7, 2008, at 5:24 AM, Primoz PETERLIN wrote:
>
> > Hello everyone,
> >
> > Time for another novice question...
> >
> > What is the best way to check whether a data file exists (in order
> > to avoid its accidental overwriting)?
> >
> > 1) The function exist() is supposed to return 2 "if the name (after
> > appending `.m') is a function file in Octave's `path'", but it also
> > returns 2 if a file is a data file in my search path, e.g., my
> > current working directory. Is this the intended behaviour and
> > something I should rely on, or is it just some side effect which can
> > vanish in the next release of Octave. In the former case, the
> > documentation should probably explicitely say so (Matlab
> > documentation claims that exist(name) returns 2 "If name is an M-
> > file on your MATLAB(R) search path. It also returns 2 when name is the
> > full pathname to a file or the name of an ordinary file on your
> > MATLAB search path. ").
> >
> > 2) stat() also does the job, but I believe it is not available in
> > Matlab?
> >
> > TIA, Primoz
>
>
> Regarding how exist() functions in Octave, it is intended to be
> consistent with Matlab. If is it not, or if you'd like to see the
> documentation changed we're all volunteers, and would like to see more!
>
> You can find the sources here:
> http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/download.html
>
> Instructions for bug reports are here:
> http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/bugs.html
>
> In any event, with regards to your present question; take a look at
> "dir" and "what"
>
>
> Ben
>
>
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