To delete a file by using PHP is very easy. Deleting a file means completely erase a file from a directory so that the file is no longer exist. PHP has an unlink() function that allows to delete a file. The PHP unlink() function takes two parameters $filename and $context. Syntax:
unlink( $filename, $context );
Below programs illustrate the above approach: Program 1: This program uses unlink() function to remove file from directory. Suppose there is a file named as “gfg.txt”
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<?php// PHP program to delete a file named gfg.txt // using unlink() function $file_pointer = "gfg.txt"; // Use unlink() function to delete a file if (!unlink($file_pointer)) { echo ("$file_pointer cannot be deleted due to an error"); } else { echo ("$file_pointer has been deleted"); } ?> |
Output:
gfg.txt has been deleted
Program 2: This program uses unlink() function to delete a file from folder after using some operation.
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<?php// PHP program to delete a file named gfg.txt // using unlink() function $file_pointer = fopen('gfg.txt', 'w+'); // writing on a file named gfg.txt fwrite($file_pointer, 'A computer science portal for neveropen!'); fclose($file_pointer); // Use unlink() function to delete a file if (!unlink($file_pointer)) { echo ("$file_pointer cannot be deleted due to an error"); } else { echo ("$file_pointer has been deleted"); } ?> |
Output:
Warning: unlink() expects parameter 1 to be a valid path, resource given in C:\xampp\htdocs\server.php on line 12 Resource id #3 cannot be deleted due to an error
Note: If the file does not exist then it will display an error.
PHP is a server-side scripting language designed specifically for web development. You can learn PHP from the ground up by following this PHP Tutorial and PHP Examples.
