97 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
97 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
# Dirent
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Dirent is a C/C++ programming interface that allows programmers to retrieve
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information about files and directories under Linux/UNIX. This project
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provides Linux compatible Dirent interface for Microsoft Windows.
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# Installation
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Download the latest Dirent installation package from
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[GitHub](https://github.com/tronkko/dirent/releases) and
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unpack the installation file with 7-zip, for example. The installation
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package contains dirent.h file as well as a few example programs and
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tests.
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## Install Dirent for All Programs
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To make dirent.h available for all C/C++ programs, simply copy the
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``include/dirent.h`` file to the system include directory. System include
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directory contains header files such as assert.h and windows.h. In Visual
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Studio 2008, for example, the system include may be found at
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``C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC\include``.
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Everything you need is included in the single dirent.h file, and you can
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start using Dirent immediately -- there is no need to add files to your
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Visual Studio project.
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## Embed Dirent into Your Own Project
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If you wish to distribute dirent.h alongside with your own source code, then
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copy ``include/dirent.h`` file to a new sub-directory within your project and
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add that directory to include path on Windows while omitting the directory
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under Linux/UNIX. This allows your project to be compiled against native
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dirent.h on Linux/UNIX while substituting the functionality on Microsoft
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Windows.
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## Examples
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The installation package contains four example programs:
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Program | Purpose
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-------- | -----------------------------------------------------------------
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ls | List files in a directory, e.g. ls "c:\Program Files"
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find | Find files in subdirectories, e.g. find "c:\Program Files\CMake"
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updatedb | Build database of files in a drive, e.g. updatedb c:\
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locate | Locate a file from database, e.g. locate notepad.exe
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To build the example programs, first install [CMake](https://cmake.org/).
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Then, with CMake installed, open command prompt and create a temporary
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directory ``c:\temp\dirent`` for the build files as
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```
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c:\
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mkdir temp
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mkdir temp\dirent
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cd temp\dirent
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```
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Generate build files as
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```
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cmake d:\dirent
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```
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where ``d:\dirent`` is the root directory of the Dirent package (containing
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this README.md and LICENSE file).
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Once CMake is finished, open Visual Studio, load the generated dirent.sln file
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from the build directory and build the solution. Once the build completes, run
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the example programs from the command prompt as
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```
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cd Debug
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ls .
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find .
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updatedb c:\
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locate cmd.exe
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```
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# Copying
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Dirent may be freely distributed under the MIT license. See the
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[LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.
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# Alternatives to Dirent
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I ported Dirent to Microsoft Windows in 1998 when only a few alternatives
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were available. However, the situation has changed since then and nowadays
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both [Cygwin](http://www.cygwin.com) and [MingW](http://www.mingw.org)
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allow you to compile a great number of UNIX programs in Microsoft Windows.
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They both provide a full dirent API as well as many other UNIX APIs. MingW
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can even be used for commercial applications!
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