C++ All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 4

Building Directories and Contents

In This Chapter

Creating and deleting directories

Getting the contents of a directory

Copying and moving, and why they are related

Moving and renaming files and why they are similar

We’re about to say something you might not believe: C++ provides no functions for creating directories and getting the contents of a directory.

Really! We know it’s hard to believe, but we can make two points about this:

• There really is a (more-or-less) good reason for this lack: C++ is a general-purpose language: Issues that deal with directories are specific to individual operating systems. Thus it doesn’t make sense to include such features in C++. (Supposedly. So they say. We guess. Whatever.)
• Some brave rebels have added some functions — and these functions exist in most C++ implementations. Whew! That’s a good thing — otherwise you’d have to call in to the operating system to create or modify a directory.

C++ has a holdover from the C programming language in the header file stdio.h that includes functions for renaming and removing files and directories. ...