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Directory.GetFileSystemEntries Method (String, String)

.NET Framework 2.0

Other Versions

Returns an array of file system entries matching the specified search criteria.

Namespace: System.IO
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Syntax

C++

public static string[] GetFileSystemEntries (
	string path,
	string searchPattern
)

public static String[] GetFileSystemEntries (
	String path, 
	String searchPattern
)

JScript

public static function GetFileSystemEntries (
	path : String, 
	searchPattern : String
) : String[]

Parameters

path: The path to be searched.

searchPattern: The search string to match against the names of files in path. The searchPattern parameter cannot end in two periods ("..") or contain two periods ("..") followed by DirectorySeparatorChar or AltDirectorySeparatorChar, nor can it contain any of the characters in InvalidPathChars.

Return Value

A String array of file system entries matching the search criteria.

Exceptions

Exception type	Condition
UnauthorizedAccessException	The caller does not have the required permission.
ArgumentException	path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more invalid characters as defined by InvalidPathChars. -or- searchPattern does not contain a valid pattern.
ArgumentNullException	path or searchPattern is a null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).
PathTooLongException	The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length. For example, on Windows-based platforms, paths must be less than 248 characters and file names must be less than 260 characters.
IOException	path is a file name.
DirectoryNotFoundException	The specified path is invalid (for example, it is on an unmapped drive).

Remarks

The following wildcard specifiers are permitted in searchPattern.

Wildcard character	Description
*	Zero or more characters.
?	Exactly one character.

Characters other than the wildcard specifiers represent themselves. For example, the searchPattern string "*t" searches for all names in path ending with the letter "t". The searchPattern string "s*" searches for all names in path beginning with the letter "s".

The matching behavior of searchPattern when the extension is exactly three characters long is different from when the extension is more than three characters long. A searchPattern of exactly three characters returns files having an extension of three or more characters. A searchPattern of one, two, or more than three characters returns only files having extensions of exactly that length.

The following list shows the behavior of different lengths for the searchPattern parameter:

"*.abc" returns files having an extension of.abc,.abcd,.abcde,.abcdef, and so on.
"*.abcd" returns only files having an extension of.abcd.
"*.abcde" returns only files having an extension of.abcde.
"*.abcdef" returns only files having an extension of.abcdef.

The path parameter is permitted to specify relative or absolute path information. Relative path information is interpreted as relative to the current working directory. To obtain the current working directory, see GetCurrentDirectory.

The path parameter is not case-sensitive.

The following table lists examples of other typical or related I/O tasks.

To do this...	See the example in this topic...
Create a text file.	How to: Write Text to a File
Write to a text file.	How to: Write Text to a File
Read from a text file.	How to: Read Text from a File
Rename or move a directory.	Directory.Move DirectoryInfo.MoveTo
Rename or move a file.	File.Move FileInfo.MoveTo
Delete a file.	File.Delete FileInfo.Delete
Delete a directory.	Directory.Delete DirectoryInfo.Delete
Create a directory.	CreateDirectory Directory
Create a subdirectory.	CreateSubdirectory
See the files in a directory.	Name
See the subdirectories of a directory.	GetDirectories GetDirectories
See all the files in all subdirectories of a directory.	GetFileSystemInfos
Find the size of a directory.	Directory
Determine if a file exists.	Exists
Determine if a directory exists.	Exists
Sort files in a directory by size.	GetFileSystemInfos
Set file attributes.	SetAttributes
Get file attributes.	GetAttributes

Example

C++

using System;

namespace GetFileSystemEntries
{
    class Class1 
    {
        static void Main(string[] args) 
        {
            Class1 snippets = new Class1();

            string path = System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory();
            string filter = "*.exe";

            snippets.PrintFileSystemEntries(path);
            snippets.PrintFileSystemEntries(path, filter);		
            snippets.GetLogicalDrives();
            snippets.GetParent(path);
            snippets.Move("C:\\proof", "C:\\Temp");
        }

		
        void PrintFileSystemEntries(string path) 
        {
			
            try 
            {
                // Obtain the file system entries in the directory path.
                string[] directoryEntries =
                    System.IO.Directory.GetFileSystemEntries(path); 

                foreach (string str in directoryEntries) 
                {
                    System.Console.WriteLine(str);
                }
            }
            catch (ArgumentNullException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
            }
            catch (System.Security.SecurityException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("The caller does not have the " +
                    "required permission.");
            }
            catch (ArgumentException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is an empty string, " +
                    "contains only white spaces, " + 
                    "or contains invalid characters.");
            }
            catch (System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("The path encapsulated in the " + 
                    "Directory object does not exist.");
            }
        }
        void PrintFileSystemEntries(string path, string pattern) 
        {
            try 
            {
                // Obtain the file system entries in the directory
                // path that match the pattern.
                string[] directoryEntries =
                    System.IO.Directory.GetFileSystemEntries(path, pattern); 

                foreach (string str in directoryEntries) 
                {
                    System.Console.WriteLine(str);
                }
            }
            catch (ArgumentNullException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
            }
            catch (System.Security.SecurityException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("The caller does not have the " +
                    "required permission.");
            }
            catch (ArgumentException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is an empty string, " +
                    "contains only white spaces, " + 
                    "or contains invalid characters.");
            }
            catch (System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("The path encapsulated in the " + 
                    "Directory object does not exist.");
            }
        }

        // Print out all logical drives on the system.
        void GetLogicalDrives() 
        {
            try 
            {
                string[] drives = System.IO.Directory.GetLogicalDrives();

                foreach (string str in drives) 
                {
                    System.Console.WriteLine(str);
                }
            }
            catch (System.IO.IOException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("An I/O error occurs.");
            }
            catch (System.Security.SecurityException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("The caller does not have the " +
                    "required permission.");
            }
        }
        void GetParent(string path) 
        {
            try 
            {
                System.IO.DirectoryInfo directoryInfo =
                    System.IO.Directory.GetParent(path);

                System.Console.WriteLine(directoryInfo.FullName);
            }
            catch (ArgumentNullException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
            }
            catch (ArgumentException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is an empty string, " +
                    "contains only white spaces, or " +
                    "contains invalid characters.");
            }
        }
        void Move(string sourcePath, string destinationPath) 
        {
            try 
            {
                System.IO.Directory.Move(sourcePath, destinationPath);
                System.Console.WriteLine("The directory move is complete.");
            }
            catch (ArgumentNullException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
            }
            catch (System.Security.SecurityException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("The caller does not have the " +
                    "required permission.");
            }
            catch (ArgumentException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is an empty string, " +
                    "contains only white spaces, " + 
                    "or contains invalid characters.");	
            }
            catch (System.IO.IOException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("An attempt was made to move a " +
                    "directory to a different " +
                    "volume, or destDirName " +
                    "already exists."); 
            }
        }
    }
}

package GetFileSystemEntries ;
import System.*;

class Class1
{
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        Class1 snippets = new Class1();

        String path = System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory();
        String filter = "*.exe";

        snippets.PrintFileSystemEntries(path);
        snippets.PrintFileSystemEntries(path, filter);
        snippets.GetLogicalDrives();
        snippets.GetParent(path);
        snippets.Move("C:\\proof", "C:\\Temp");
    } //main

    void PrintFileSystemEntries(String path)
    {
        try {
            // Obtain the file system entries in the directory path.
            String directoryEntries[] = 
                System.IO.Directory.GetFileSystemEntries(path);

            for (int iCtr = 0; iCtr < directoryEntries.length; iCtr++) {
                String str = directoryEntries[iCtr];
                System.Console.WriteLine(str);
            }
        }
        catch (ArgumentNullException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
        }
        catch (System.Security.SecurityException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("The caller does not have the "
                + "required permission."));
        }
        catch (ArgumentException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("Path is an empty string, "
                + "contains only white spaces, "
                + "or contains invalid characters."));
        }
        catch (System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("The path encapsulated in the "
                + "Directory object does not exist."));
        }
    } //PrintFileSystemEntries

    void PrintFileSystemEntries(String path, String pattern)
    {
        try {
            // Obtain the file system entries in the directory
            // path that match the pattern.
            String directoryEntries[] = 
                System.IO.Directory.GetFileSystemEntries(path, pattern);

            for (int iCtr = 0; iCtr < directoryEntries.length; iCtr++) {
                String str = directoryEntries[iCtr];
                System.Console.WriteLine(str);
            }
        }
        catch (ArgumentNullException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
        }
        catch (System.Security.SecurityException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("The caller does not have the "
                + "required permission."));
        }
        catch (ArgumentException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("Path is an empty string, "
                + "contains only white spaces, "
                + "or contains invalid characters."));
        }
        catch (System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("The path encapsulated in the "
                + "Directory object does not exist."));
        }
    } //PrintFileSystemEntries

    // Print out all logical drives on the system.
    void GetLogicalDrives()
    {
        try {
            String drives[] = System.IO.Directory.GetLogicalDrives();

            for (int iCtr = 0; iCtr < drives.length; iCtr++) {
                String str = drives[iCtr];
                System.Console.WriteLine(str);
            }
        }
        catch (System.IO.IOException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine("An I/O error occurs.");
        }
        catch (System.Security.SecurityException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("The caller does not have the "
                + "required permission."));
        }
    } //GetLogicalDrives

    void GetParent(String path)
    {
        try {
            System.IO.DirectoryInfo directoryInfo = 
                System.IO.Directory.GetParent(path);
            System.Console.WriteLine(directoryInfo.get_FullName());
        }
        catch (ArgumentNullException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
        }
        catch (ArgumentException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("Path is an empty string, "
                +"contains only white spaces, or contains invalid characters."));
        }
    } //GetParent

    void Move(String sourcePath, String destinationPath)
    {
        try {
            System.IO.Directory.Move(sourcePath, destinationPath);
            System.Console.WriteLine("The directory move is complete.");
        }
        catch (ArgumentNullException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
        }
        catch (System.Security.SecurityException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("The caller does not have the "
                + "required permission."));
        }
        catch (ArgumentException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("Path is an empty string, "
                +"contains only white spaces, or contains invalid characters."));
        }
        catch (System.IO.IOException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("An attempt was made to move a "
                + "directory to a different "
                + "volume, or destDirName "
                + "already exists."));
        }
    } //Move
} //Class1

.NET Framework Security

FileIOPermission for access to path information for the current directory. Associated enumeration: FileIOPermissionAccess.PathDiscovery

Platforms

Windows 98, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows CE, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see System Requirements.

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 2.0, 1.0

Reference

Directory Class
Directory Members
System.IO Namespace
FileSystemInfo

Other Resources

File and Stream I/O
How to: Read Text from a File
How to: Write Text to a File

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