#

Function PROBE-FILE

Syntax:

probe-file pathspec => truename

Arguments and Values:

pathspec---a pathname designator.

truename---a physical pathname or nil.

Description:

probe-file tests whether a file exists.

probe-file returns false if there is no file named pathspec, and otherwise returns the truename of pathspec.

If the pathspec designator is an open stream, then probe-file produces the truename of its associated file. If pathspec is a stream, whether open or closed, it is coerced to a pathname as if by the function pathname.

Examples: None.

Affected By:

The host computer's file system.

Exceptional Situations:

An error of type file-error is signaled if pathspec is wild.

An error of type file-error is signaled if the file system cannot perform the requested operation.

See Also:

truename, open, ensure-directories-exist, pathname, logical-pathname, Section 20.1 (File System Concepts), Section 20.1.2 (File Operations on Open and Closed Streams), Section 19.1.2 (Pathnames as Filenames)

Notes: None.

The following X3J13 cleanup issues, not part of the specification, apply to this section:

- PATHNAME-WILD:NEW-FUNCTIONS
- FILE-OPEN-ERROR:SIGNAL-FILE-ERROR
- CLOSED-STREAM-OPERATIONS:ALLOW-INQUIRY
- PATHNAME-LOGICAL:ADD

Copyright 1996-2001, Xanalys Inc. All rights reserved.