In PHP, deleting a file is done using the unlink() function. This function allows you to remove a specified file from the filesystem.
Syntax of the unlink() Function
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unlink(filename)
- filename: The path to the file you want to delete.
The unlink() function returns TRUE on successful deletion and FALSE on failure.
Basic Example of Deleting a File
Let’s say you have a file named “example.txt” that you want to delete:
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<?php
$file = “example.txt”;
if (unlink($file)) {
echo “File deleted successfully.”;
} else {
echo “Failed to delete the file.”;
}
?>
In this example:
- The unlink() function attempts to delete “example.txt”.
- If successful, it outputs “File deleted successfully”; otherwise, it outputs an error message.
Checking if a File Exists Before Deleting
To avoid errors, it’s a good idea to check if the file exists using file_exists() before calling unlink().
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<?php
$file = “example.txt”;
if (file_exists($file)) {
if (unlink($file)) {
echo “File deleted successfully.”;
} else {
echo “Failed to delete the file.”;
}
} else {
echo “The file does not exist.”;
}
?>
In this example:
- file_exists($file) checks if “example.txt” is present.
- If the file exists, unlink($file) is called to delete it.