fileExists -- whether a file exists

Synopsis

Usage:

fileExists fn
Inputs:
- fn, a string
Outputs:
- a Boolean value, whether a file with the filename or path fn exists

Description

i1 : fn = temporaryFileName()

o1 = /tmp/M2-770820-0/0

i2 : fileExists fn

o2 = false

i3 : fn << "hi there" << close

o3 = /tmp/M2-770820-0/0

o3 : File

i4 : fileExists fn

o4 = true

i5 : removeFile fn

If fn refers to a symbolic link, then whether the file exists is determined by the content of the link and whether there is a file with the new path determined by it. The presence of a symbolic link can be detected with readlink.

For the programmer

The object fileExists is a compiled function.