DirectoryInfo.Delete
Method
Definition
Overloads
| Delete() |
Deletes this DirectoryInfo if it is empty. |
| Delete(Boolean) |
Deletes this instance of a DirectoryInfo, specifying whether to delete subdirectories and files. |
Delete()
Deletes this DirectoryInfo if it is empty.
public override void Delete ();
The directory contains a read-only file.
The directory described by this DirectoryInfo object does not exist or could not be found.
The directory is not empty.
-or-
The directory is the application's current working directory.
-or-
There is an open handle on the directory, and the operating system is Windows XP or earlier. This open handle can result from enumerating directories. For more information, see How to: Enumerate Directories and Files.
The caller does not have the required permission.
Examples
The following example throws an exception if you attempt to delete a directory that is not empty.
using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;
int main()
{
// Specify the directories you want to manipulate.
DirectoryInfo^ di1 = gcnew DirectoryInfo( "c:\\MyDir" );
try
{
// Create the directories.
di1->Create();
di1->CreateSubdirectory( "temp" );
//This operation will not be allowed because there are subdirectories.
Console::WriteLine( "I am about to attempt to delete {0}", di1->Name );
di1->Delete();
Console::WriteLine( "The Delete operation was successful, which was unexpected." );
}
catch ( Exception^ )
{
Console::WriteLine( "The Delete operation failed as expected." );
}
}
using System;
using System.IO;
class Test
{
public static void Main()
{
// Specify the directories you want to manipulate.
DirectoryInfo di1 = new DirectoryInfo(@"c:\MyDir");
try
{
// Create the directories.
di1.Create();
di1.CreateSubdirectory("temp");
//This operation will not be allowed because there are subdirectories.
Console.WriteLine("I am about to attempt to delete {0}", di1.Name);
di1.Delete();
Console.WriteLine("The Delete operation was successful, which was unexpected.");
}
catch (Exception)
{
Console.WriteLine("The Delete operation failed as expected.");
}
finally {}
}
}
Imports System
Imports System.IO
Public Class Test
Public Shared Sub Main()
' Specify the directories you want to manipulate.
Dim di1 As DirectoryInfo = New DirectoryInfo("c:\MyDir")
Try
' Create the directories.
di1.Create()
di1.CreateSubdirectory("temp")
'This operation will not be allowed because there are subdirectories.
Console.WriteLine("I am about to attempt to delete {0}", di1.Name)
di1.Delete()
Console.WriteLine("The Delete operation was successful, which was unexpected.")
Catch
Console.WriteLine("The Delete operation was unsuccessful, as expected.")
End Try
End Sub
End Class
Remarks
For a list of common I/O tasks, see Common I/O Tasks.
Delete(Boolean)
Deletes this instance of a DirectoryInfo, specifying whether to delete subdirectories and files.
public void Delete (bool recursive);
- recursive
- Boolean
true to delete this directory, its subdirectories, and all files; otherwise, false.
The directory contains a read-only file.
The directory described by this DirectoryInfo object does not exist or could not be found.
The directory is read-only.
-or-
The directory contains one or more files or subdirectories and recursive is false.
-or-
The directory is the application's current working directory.
-or-
There is an open handle on the directory or on one of its files, and the operating system is Windows XP or earlier. This open handle can result from enumerating directories and files. For more information, see How to: Enumerate Directories and Files.
The caller does not have the required permission.
Examples
The following example demonstrates deleting a directory. Because the directory is removed, first comment out the Delete line to test that the directory exists. Then uncomment the same line of code to test that the directory was removed successfully.
using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;
int main()
{
// Make a reference to a directory.
DirectoryInfo^ di = gcnew DirectoryInfo( "TempDir" );
// Create the directory only if it does not already exist.
if ( !di->Exists )
di->Create();
// Create a subdirectory in the directory just created.
DirectoryInfo^ dis = di->CreateSubdirectory( "SubDir" );
// Process that directory as required.
// ...
// Delete the subdirectory. The true indicates that if subdirectories
// or files are in this directory, they are to be deleted as well.
dis->Delete( true );
// Delete the directory.
di->Delete( true );
}
using System;
using System.IO;
public class DeleteTest
{
public static void Main()
{
// Make a reference to a directory.
DirectoryInfo di = new DirectoryInfo("TempDir");
// Create the directory only if it does not already exist.
if (di.Exists == false)
di.Create();
// Create a subdirectory in the directory just created.
DirectoryInfo dis = di.CreateSubdirectory("SubDir");
// Process that directory as required.
// ...
// Delete the subdirectory. The true indicates that if subdirectories
// or files are in this directory, they are to be deleted as well.
dis.Delete(true);
// Delete the directory.
di.Delete(true);
}
}
Imports System
Imports System.IO
Public Class DeleteTest
Public Shared Sub Main()
' Make a reference to a directory.
Dim di As New DirectoryInfo("TempDir")
' Create the directory only if it does not already exist.
If di.Exists = False Then
di.Create()
End If
Dim dis As DirectoryInfo = di.CreateSubdirectory("SubDir")
' Create a subdirectory in the directory just created.
' Process that directory as required.
' ...
' Delete the subdirectory. The true indicates that if subdirectories
' or files are in this directory, they are to be deleted as well.
dis.Delete(True)
' Delete the directory.
di.Delete(True)
End Sub 'Main
End Class 'DeleteTest
Remarks
If the DirectoryInfo has no files or subdirectories, this method deletes the DirectoryInfo even if recursive is false. Attempting to delete a DirectoryInfo that is not empty when recursive is false throws an IOException.
For a list of common I/O tasks, see Common I/O Tasks.