matlab delete file | Code Ease (2024)

Answered on: Thursday 16 May, 2024 / Duration: 17 min read

Programming Language: Matlab , Popularity :9/10

Solution 1:

To delete a file in MATLAB, you can use the delete function. Here is an example code snippet to delete a file named "example.txt":

matlab
filename = 'example.txt';
delete(filename);

After running this code, the file "example.txt" will be deleted from the current working directory. If you want to delete a file from a specific directory, you can provide the full path to the file in the delete function:

matlab
filepath = 'C:\Users\username\Documents\example.txt';
delete(filepath);

Make sure to replace 'C:\Users\username\Documents\example.txt' with the actual path to the file you want to delete.

If the file is successfully deleted, MATLAB will not output any message. However, if there is an error in deleting the file (e.g., file not found), MATLAB will display an error message.

Solution 2:

## Deleting Files in MATLAB

MATLAB provides a function named delete to delete files from the current directory or a specified path.

### Syntax

matlab
delete(file)
delete(file, 'force')

Parameters:

* file: The name of the file(s) to be deleted. Can be a string or a cell array of strings.
* 'force' (optional): A flag indicating whether to force deletion even if the file is read-only or hidden.

### Code Examples

Example 1: Deleting a Single File

Consider a file named myfile.txt in the current directory.

matlab
delete('myfile.txt');

Output:


Deleted: myfile.txt

Example 2: Deleting Multiple Files

To delete multiple files, specify their names in a cell array:

matlab
files = {'file1.txt', 'file2.txt', 'file3.txt'};
delete(files);

Output:


Deleted: file1.txt
Deleted: file2.txt
Deleted: file3.txt

Example 3: Deleting Files with 'force' Flag

If a file is read-only or hidden, you can use the 'force' flag to force its deletion:

matlab
delete('myfile.txt', 'force');

### Outputs

The delete function displays a message for each successfully deleted file, providing the name of the deleted file.

### Notes:

* If the specified file does not exist, MATLAB will issue a warning.
* If the file is a directory, use the rmdir function to delete it.
* Be cautious when using the 'force' flag, as it can delete files accidentally.
* You can also use the del function, which is an alias for delete.

Solution 3:

In MATLAB, you can delete a file using the delete function. The basic syntax for deleting a file is:

delete(filename)

Where filename is a string containing the name of the file you want to delete.

Here's an example of how to use the delete function:

1. First, let's create a sample file that we can delete later:

matlab
filename = 'sample_file.txt';
fid = fopen(filename, 'w');
fprintf(fid, 'This is a sample file.\n');
fclose(fid);

This code creates a file called sample_file.txt and writes the string "This is a sample file.\n" to it.

2. Now, let's check if the file exists and display its properties using the dir function:

matlab
dir_info = dir(filename);
if dir_info.isdir
 disp('It is a directory');
else
 disp('It is a file');
 full_filename = fullfile(pwd, filename);
 fprintf('File name: %s\n', full_filename);
 fprintf('File size: %d bytes\n', dir_info.bytes);
end

This code checks if filename is a file or a directory. If it's a file, it displays the file name and size.