unlink multiple files in a C linux program

Question

I am trying to simulate the behavior of linux commandline command

rm a1*.txt

using either wildcards or regular expressions, inside a C program (linux gcc).

Is there a standard way of doing that?

Take a look at [`glob()`](http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/functions/glob.html) — Sean Bright, Mar 31 '16 at 13:32
One is a subset of the other. I would prefer a POSIX C solution, but if there is nothing simple, I wonder if C++ has a standard one. — mousomer, Mar 31 '16 at 13:33
@mousomer I don't think that's true any more, in as much as idiomatic C is no longer always valid C++. — unwind, Mar 31 '16 at 13:34
@unwind, I know. That's irrelevant to my question. I don't want to go there. Didn't intend on starting a C vs C++ flame war. — mousomer, Mar 31 '16 at 13:36

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 31 '16 at 13:36

4

If you're on a POSIX system, you can use glob() to expand such a pattern.

Then, of course, use the standard remove() function to do the deletion.

answered Mar 31 '16 at 13:36

unwind

Nice. I hadn't come across glob before. I was thinking it'd be a call to nftw, which I suppose might still be a good bet if this was ever to expand to a recursive removal! – Joe Mar 31 '16 at 13:39

1 Answers1