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authordkf <donal.k.fellows@manchester.ac.uk>2006-12-02 16:14:30 (GMT)
committerdkf <donal.k.fellows@manchester.ac.uk>2006-12-02 16:14:30 (GMT)
commitecd460f0cf5fb2d5ba832332353c4c610e8684fb (patch)
tree7bfe8b281c18e3a03670f096af3483ab2242e8a2 /doc/file.n
parentee623a6b64ff51fd3910c18810f6050e69a6ada1 (diff)
downloadtcl-ecd460f0cf5fb2d5ba832332353c4c610e8684fb.zip
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Bug 1606454 fixed
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diff --git a/doc/file.n b/doc/file.n
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-'\"
-'\" Copyright (c) 1993 The Regents of the University of California.
-'\" Copyright (c) 1994-1996 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
-'\"
-'\" See the file "license.terms" for information on usage and redistribution
-'\" of this file, and for a DISCLAIMER OF ALL WARRANTIES.
-'\"
-'\" RCS: @(#) $Id: file.n,v 1.40 2005/05/10 18:33:59 kennykb Exp $
-'\"
-.so man.macros
-.TH file n 8.3 Tcl "Tcl Built-In Commands"
-.BS
-'\" Note: do not modify the .SH NAME line immediately below!
-.SH NAME
-file \- Manipulate file names and attributes
-.SH SYNOPSIS
-\fBfile \fIoption\fR \fIname\fR ?\fIarg arg ...\fR?
-.BE
-
-.SH DESCRIPTION
-.PP
-This command provides several operations on a file's name or attributes.
-\fIName\fR is the name of a file; if it starts with a tilde, then tilde
-substitution is done before executing the command (see the manual entry for
-\fBfilename\fR for details). \fIOption\fR indicates what to do with the
-file name. Any unique abbreviation for \fIoption\fR is acceptable. The
-valid options are:
-.TP
-\fBfile atime \fIname\fR ?\fBtime\fR?
-.
-Returns a decimal string giving the time at which file \fIname\fR was last
-accessed. If \fItime\fR is specified, it is an access time to set
-for the file. The time is measured in the standard POSIX fashion as
-seconds from a fixed starting time (often January 1, 1970). If the file
-doesn't exist or its access time cannot be queried or set then an error is
-generated. On Windows, FAT file systems do not support access time.
-.TP
-\fBfile attributes \fIname\fR
-.TP
-\fBfile attributes \fIname\fR ?\fBoption\fR?
-.TP
-\fBfile attributes \fIname\fR ?\fBoption value option value...\fR?
-.RS
-This subcommand returns or sets platform specific values associated
-with a file. The first form returns a list of the platform specific
-flags and their values. The second form returns the value for the
-specific option. The third form sets one or more of the values. The
-values are as follows:
-.PP
-On Unix, \fB-group\fR gets or sets the group name for the file. A group id
-can be given to the command, but it returns a group name. \fB-owner\fR gets
-or sets the user name of the owner of the file. The command returns the
-owner name, but the numerical id can be passed when setting the
-owner. \fB-permissions\fR sets or retrieves the octal code that chmod(1)
-uses. This command does also has limited support for setting using the
-symbolic attributes for chmod(1), of the form [ugo]?[[+\-=][rwxst],[...]],
-where multiple symbolic attributes can be separated by commas (example:
-\fBu+s,go\-rw\fR add sticky bit for user, remove read and write
-permissions for group and other). A simplified \fBls\fR style string,
-of the form rwxrwxrwx (must be 9 characters), is also supported
-(example: \fBrwxr\-xr\-t\fR is equivalent to 01755).
-On versions of Unix supporting file flags, \fB-readonly\fR gives the
-value or sets or clears the readonly attribute of the file,
-i.e. the user immutable flag \fBuchg\fR to chflags(1).
-.PP
-On Windows, \fB-archive\fR gives the value or sets or clears the
-archive attribute of the file. \fB-hidden\fR gives the value or sets
-or clears the hidden attribute of the file. \fB-longname\fR will
-expand each path element to its long version. This attribute cannot be
-set. \fB-readonly\fR gives the value or sets or clears the readonly
-attribute of the file. \fB-shortname\fR gives a string where every
-path element is replaced with its short (8.3) version of the
-name. This attribute cannot be set. \fB-system\fR gives or sets or
-clears the value of the system attribute of the file.
-.PP
-On Mac OS X and Darwin, \fB-creator\fR gives or sets the
-Finder creator type of the file. \fB-hidden\fR gives or sets or clears
-the hidden attribute of the file. \fB-readonly\fR gives or sets or
-clears the readonly attribute of the file. \fB-rsrclength\fR gives
-the length of the resource fork of the file, this attribute can only be
-set to the value 0, which results in the resource fork being stripped
-off the file.
-.RE
-.TP
-\fBfile channels ?\fIpattern\fR?
-.
-If \fIpattern\fR isn't specified, returns a list of names of all
-registered open channels in this interpreter. If \fIpattern\fR is
-specified, only those names matching \fIpattern\fR are returned. Matching
-is determined using the same rules as for \fBstring match\fR.
-.TP
-\fBfile copy \fR?\fB\-force\fR? ?\fB\-\|\-\fR? \fIsource\fR \fItarget\fR
-.TP
-\fBfile copy \fR?\fB\-force\fR? ?\fB\-\|\-\fR? \fIsource\fR ?\fIsource\fR ...? \fItargetDir\fR
-.RS
-The first form makes a copy of the file or directory \fIsource\fR under
-the pathname \fItarget\fR. If \fItarget\fR is an existing directory,
-then the second form is used. The second form makes a copy inside
-\fItargetDir\fR of each \fIsource\fR file listed. If a directory is
-specified as a \fIsource\fR, then the contents of the directory will be
-recursively copied into \fItargetDir\fR. Existing files will not be
-overwritten unless the \fB\-force\fR option is specified (when Tcl will
-also attempt to adjust permissions on the destination file or directory
-if that is necessary to allow the copy to proceed). When copying
-within a single filesystem, \fIfile copy\fR will copy soft links (i.e.
-the links themselves are copied, not the things they point to). Trying
-to overwrite a non-empty directory, overwrite a directory with a file,
-or overwrite a file with a directory will all result in errors even if
-\fI\-force\fR was specified. Arguments are processed in the order
-specified, halting at the first error, if any. A \fB\-\|\-\fR marks
-the end of switches; the argument following the \fB\-\|\-\fR will be
-treated as a \fIsource\fR even if it starts with a \fB\-\fR.
-.RE
-.TP
-\fBfile delete \fR?\fB\-force\fR? ?\fB\-\|\-\fR? \fIpathname\fR ?\fIpathname\fR ... ?
-.
-Removes the file or directory specified by each \fIpathname\fR
-argument. Non-empty directories will be removed only if the
-\fB\-force\fR option is specified. When operating on symbolic links,
-the links themselves will be deleted, not the objects they point to.
-Trying to delete a non-existent file is not considered an error.
-Trying to delete a read-only file will cause the file to be deleted,
-even if the \fB\-force\fR flags is not specified. If the \fB\-force\fR
-option is specified on a directory, Tcl will attempt both to change
-permissions and move the current directory 'pwd' out of the given path
-if that is necessary to allow the deletion to proceed. Arguments are
-processed in the order specified, halting at the first error, if any.
-A \fB\-\|\-\fR marks the end of switches; the argument following the
-\fB\-\|\-\fR will be treated as a \fIpathname\fR even if it starts with
-a \fB\-\fR.
-.TP
-\fBfile dirname \fIname\fR
-Returns a name comprised of all of the path components in \fIname\fR
-excluding the last element. If \fIname\fR is a relative file name and
-only contains one path element, then returns ``\fB.\fR''. If \fIname\fR
-refers to a root directory, then the root directory is returned. For
-example,
-.RS
-.CS
-\fBfile dirname c:/\fR
-.CE
-returns \fBc:/\fR.
-.PP
-Note that tilde substitution will only be
-performed if it is necessary to complete the command. For example,
-.CS
-\fBfile dirname ~/src/foo.c\fR
-.CE
-returns \fB~/src\fR, whereas
-.CS
-\fBfile dirname ~\fR
-.CE
-returns \fB/home\fR (or something similar).
-.RE
-.TP
-\fBfile executable \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns \fB1\fR if file \fIname\fR is executable by the current user,
-\fB0\fR otherwise.
-.TP
-\fBfile exists \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns \fB1\fR if file \fIname\fR exists and the current user has
-search privileges for the directories leading to it, \fB0\fR otherwise.
-.TP
-\fBfile extension \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns all of the characters in \fIname\fR after and including the last
-dot in the last element of \fIname\fR. If there is no dot in the last
-element of \fIname\fR then returns the empty string.
-.TP
-\fBfile isdirectory \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns \fB1\fR if file \fIname\fR is a directory, \fB0\fR otherwise.
-.TP
-\fBfile isfile \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns \fB1\fR if file \fIname\fR is a regular file, \fB0\fR otherwise.
-.TP
-\fBfile join \fIname\fR ?\fIname ...\fR?
-.
-Takes one or more file names and combines them, using the correct path
-separator for the current platform. If a particular \fIname\fR is
-relative, then it will be joined to the previous file name argument.
-Otherwise, any earlier arguments will be discarded, and joining will
-proceed from the current argument. For example,
-.RS
-.CS
-\fBfile join a b /foo bar\fR
-.CE
-returns \fB/foo/bar\fR.
-.PP
-Note that any of the names can contain separators, and that the result
-is always canonical for the current platform: \fB/\fR for Unix and
-Windows.
-.RE
-.TP
-\fBfile link ?\fI-linktype\fR? \fIlinkName\fR ?\fItarget\fR?
-.
-If only one argument is given, that argument is assumed to be
-\fIlinkName\fR, and this command returns the value of the link given by
-\fIlinkName\fR (i.e. the name of the file it points to). If
-\fIlinkName\fR isn't a link or its value cannot be read (as, for example,
-seems to be the case with hard links, which look just like ordinary
-files), then an error is returned.
-.
-If 2 arguments are given, then these are assumed to be \fIlinkName\fR
-and \fItarget\fR. If \fIlinkName\fR already exists, or if \fItarget\fR
-doesn't exist, an error will be returned. Otherwise, Tcl creates a new
-link called \fIlinkName\fR which points to the existing filesystem
-object at \fItarget\fR (which is also the returned value), where the
-type of the link is platform-specific (on Unix a symbolic link will be
-the default). This is useful for the case where the user wishes to
-create a link in a cross-platform way, and doesn't care what type of
-link is created.
-.
-If the user wishes to make a link of a specific type only, (and signal an
-error if for some reason that is not possible), then the optional
-\fI-linktype\fR argument should be given. Accepted values for
-\fI-linktype\fR are "-symbolic" and "-hard".
-.
-On Unix, symbolic links can be made to relative paths, and those paths
-must be relative to the actual \fIlinkName\fR's location (not to the
-cwd), but on all other platforms where relative links are not supported,
-target paths will always be converted to absolute, normalized form
-before the link is created (and therefore relative paths are interpreted
-as relative to the cwd). Furthermore, "~user" paths are always expanded
-to absolute form. When creating links on filesystems that either do not
-support any links, or do not support the specific type requested, an
-error message will be returned. In particular Windows 95, 98 and ME do
-not support any links at present, but most Unix platforms support both
-symbolic and hard links (the latter for files only) and Windows
-NT/2000/XP (on NTFS drives) support symbolic
-directory links and hard file links.
-.TP
-\fBfile lstat \fIname varName\fR
-.
-Same as \fBstat\fR option (see below) except uses the \fIlstat\fR
-kernel call instead of \fIstat\fR. This means that if \fIname\fR
-refers to a symbolic link the information returned in \fIvarName\fR
-is for the link rather than the file it refers to. On systems that
-don't support symbolic links this option behaves exactly the same
-as the \fBstat\fR option.
-.TP
-\fBfile mkdir \fIdir\fR ?\fIdir\fR ...?
-.
-Creates each directory specified. For each pathname \fIdir\fR specified,
-this command will create all non-existing parent directories as
-well as \fIdir\fR itself. If an existing directory is specified, then
-no action is taken and no error is returned. Trying to overwrite an existing
-file with a directory will result in an error. Arguments are processed in
-the order specified, halting at the first error, if any.
-.TP
-\fBfile mtime \fIname\fR ?\fItime\fR?
-.
-Returns a decimal string giving the time at which file \fIname\fR was last
-modified. If \fItime\fR is specified, it is a modification time to set for
-the file (equivalent to Unix \fBtouch\fR). The time is measured in the
-standard POSIX fashion as seconds from a fixed starting time (often January
-1, 1970). If the file doesn't exist or its modified time cannot be queried
-or set then an error is generated.
-.TP
-\fBfile nativename \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns the platform-specific name of the file. This is useful if the
-filename is needed to pass to a platform-specific call, such as exec
-under Windows.
-.TP
-\fBfile normalize \fIname\fR
-.
-.RS
-Returns a unique normalized path representation for the file-system
-object (file, directory, link, etc), whose string value can be used as a
-unique identifier for it. A normalized path is an absolute path which has
-all '../', './' removed. Also it is one which is in the ``standard''
-format for the native platform. On Unix, this means the segments
-leading up to the path must be free of symbolic links/aliases (but the
-very last path component may be a symbolic link), and on Windows it also
-means we want the long form with that form's case-dependence (which
-gives us a unique, case-dependent path). The one exception concerning the
-last link in the path is necessary, because Tcl or the user may wish to
-operate on the actual symbolic link itself (for example 'file delete', 'file
-rename', 'file copy' are defined to operate on symbolic links, not on the
-things that they point to).
-.RE
-.TP
-\fBfile owned \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns \fB1\fR if file \fIname\fR is owned by the current user, \fB0\fR
-otherwise.
-.TP
-\fBfile pathtype \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns one of \fBabsolute\fR, \fBrelative\fR, \fBvolumerelative\fR. If
-\fIname\fR refers to a specific file on a specific volume, the path type
-will be \fBabsolute\fR. If \fIname\fR refers to a file relative to the
-current working directory, then the path type will be \fBrelative\fR. If
-\fIname\fR refers to a file relative to the current working directory on
-a specified volume, or to a specific file on the current working volume, then
-the file type is \fBvolumerelative\fR.
-.TP
-\fBfile readable \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns \fB1\fR if file \fIname\fR is readable by the current user,
-\fB0\fR otherwise.
-.TP
-\fBfile readlink \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns the value of the symbolic link given by \fIname\fR (i.e. the name
-of the file it points to). If \fIname\fR isn't a symbolic link or its
-value cannot be read, then an error is returned. On systems that don't
-support symbolic links this option is undefined.
-.TP
-\fBfile rename \fR?\fB\-force\fR? ?\fB\-\|\-\fR? \fIsource\fR \fItarget\fR
-.TP
-\fBfile rename \fR?\fB\-force\fR? ?\fB\-\|\-\fR? \fIsource\fR ?\fIsource\fR ...? \fItargetDir\fR
-.RS
-The first form takes the file or directory specified by pathname
-\fIsource\fR and renames it to \fItarget\fR, moving the file if the
-pathname \fItarget\fR specifies a name in a different directory. If
-\fItarget\fR is an existing directory, then the second form is used.
-The second form moves each \fIsource\fR file or directory into the
-directory \fItargetDir\fR. Existing files will not be overwritten
-unless the \fB\-force\fR option is specified. When operating inside a
-single filesystem, Tcl will rename symbolic links rather than the
-things that they point to. Trying to overwrite a non-empty directory,
-overwrite a directory with a file, or a file with a directory will all
-result in errors. Arguments are processed in the order specified,
-halting at the first error, if any. A \fB\-\|\-\fR marks the end of
-switches; the argument following the \fB\-\|\-\fR will be treated as a
-\fIsource\fR even if it starts with a \fB\-\fR.
-.RE
-.TP
-\fBfile rootname \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns all of the characters in \fIname\fR up to but not including the
-last ``.'' character in the last component of name. If the last
-component of \fIname\fR doesn't contain a dot, then returns \fIname\fR.
-.TP
-\fBfile separator\fR ?\fIname\fR?
-.
-If no argument is given, returns the character which is used to separate
-path segments for native files on this platform. If a path is given,
-the filesystem responsible for that path is asked to return its
-separator character. If no file system accepts \fIname\fR, an error
-is generated.
-.TP
-\fBfile size \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns a decimal string giving the size of file \fIname\fR in bytes. If
-the file doesn't exist or its size cannot be queried then an error is
-generated.
-.TP
-\fBfile split \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns a list whose elements are the path components in \fIname\fR. The
-first element of the list will have the same path type as \fIname\fR.
-All other elements will be relative. Path separators will be discarded
-unless they are needed ensure that an element is unambiguously relative.
-For example, under Unix
-.RS
-.CS
-file split /foo/~bar/baz
-.CE
-returns \fB/\0\0foo\0\0./~bar\0\0baz\fR to ensure that later commands
-that use the third component do not attempt to perform tilde
-substitution.
-.RE
-.TP
-\fBfile stat \fIname varName\fR
-.
-Invokes the \fBstat\fR kernel call on \fIname\fR, and uses the variable
-given by \fIvarName\fR to hold information returned from the kernel call.
-\fIVarName\fR is treated as an array variable, and the following elements
-of that variable are set: \fBatime\fR, \fBctime\fR, \fBdev\fR, \fBgid\fR,
-\fBino\fR, \fBmode\fR, \fBmtime\fR, \fBnlink\fR, \fBsize\fR, \fBtype\fR,
-\fBuid\fR. Each element except \fBtype\fR is a decimal string with the
-value of the corresponding field from the \fBstat\fR return structure;
-see the manual entry for \fBstat\fR for details on the meanings of the
-values. The \fBtype\fR element gives the type of the file in the same
-form returned by the command \fBfile type\fR. This command returns an
-empty string.
-.TP
-\fBfile system \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns a list of one or two elements, the first of which is the name of
-the filesystem to use for the file, and the second, if given, an
-arbitrary string representing the filesystem-specific nature or type of
-the location within that filesystem. If a filesystem only supports one
-type of file, the second element may not be supplied. For example the
-native files have a first element 'native', and a second element which
-when given is a platform-specific type name for the file's system
-(e.g. 'NTFS', 'FAT', on Windows). A generic virtual file system might return
-the list 'vfs ftp' to represent a file on a remote ftp site mounted as a
-virtual filesystem through an extension called 'vfs'. If the file does
-not belong to any filesystem, an error is generated.
-.TP
-\fBfile tail \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns all of the characters in the last filesystem component of
-\fIname\fR. Any trailing directory separator in \fIname\fR is ignored.
-If \fIname\fR contains no separators then returns \fIname\fR. So,
-\fBfile tail a/b\fR, \fBfile tail a/b/\fR and \fBfile tail b\fR all
-return \fBb\fR.
-.TP
-\fBfile type \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns a string giving the type of file \fIname\fR, which will be one of
-\fBfile\fR, \fBdirectory\fR, \fBcharacterSpecial\fR, \fBblockSpecial\fR,
-\fBfifo\fR, \fBlink\fR, or \fBsocket\fR.
-.TP
-\fBfile volumes\fR
-.
-Returns the absolute paths to the volumes mounted on the system, as a
-proper Tcl list. Without any virtual filesystems mounted as root
-volumes, on UNIX, the command will always return "/", since all
-filesystems are locally mounted.
-On Windows, it will return a list of the available local drives
-(e.g. {a:/ c:/}). If any virtual filesystem has mounted additional
-volumes, they will be in the returned list.
-.TP
-\fBfile writable \fIname\fR
-.
-Returns \fB1\fR if file \fIname\fR is writable by the current user,
-\fB0\fR otherwise.
-.SH "PORTABILITY ISSUES"
-.TP
-\fBUnix\fR\0\0\0\0\0\0\0
-.
-These commands always operate using the real user and group identifiers,
-not the effective ones.
-.SH EXAMPLES
-This procedure shows how to search for C files in a given directory
-that have a correspondingly-named object file in the current
-directory:
-.CS
-proc findMatchingCFiles {dir} {
- set files {}
- switch $::tcl_platform(platform) {
- windows {
- set ext .obj
- }
- unix {
- set ext .o
- }
- }
- foreach file [glob -nocomplain -directory $dir *.c] {
- set objectFile [\fBfile tail\fR [\fBfile rootname\fR $file]]$ext
- if {[\fBfile exists\fR $objectFile]} {
- lappend files $file
- }
- }
- return $files
-}
-.CE
-.PP
-Rename a file and leave a symbolic link pointing from the old location
-to the new place:
-.CS
-set oldName foobar.txt
-set newName foo/bar.txt
-# Make sure that where we're going to move to exists...
-if {![\fBfile isdirectory\fR [\fBfile dirname\fR $newName]]} {
- \fBfile mkdir\fR [\fBfile dirname\fR $newName]
-}
-\fBfile rename\fR $oldName $newName
-\fBfile link\fR -symbolic $oldName $newName
-.CE
-
-.SH "SEE ALSO"
-filename(n), open(n), close(n), eof(n), gets(n), tell(n), seek(n),
-fblocked(n), flush(n)
-
-.SH KEYWORDS
-attributes, copy files, delete files, directory, file, move files, name, rename files, stat
+'\"
+'\" Copyright (c) 1993 The Regents of the University of California.
+'\" Copyright (c) 1994-1996 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
+'\"
+'\" See the file "license.terms" for information on usage and redistribution
+'\" of this file, and for a DISCLAIMER OF ALL WARRANTIES.
+'\"
+'\" RCS: @(#) $Id: file.n,v 1.41 2006/12/02 16:14:30 dkf Exp $
+'\"
+.so man.macros
+.TH file n 8.3 Tcl "Tcl Built-In Commands"
+.BS
+'\" Note: do not modify the .SH NAME line immediately below!
+.SH NAME
+file \- Manipulate file names and attributes
+.SH SYNOPSIS
+\fBfile \fIoption\fR \fIname\fR ?\fIarg arg ...\fR?
+.BE
+
+.SH DESCRIPTION
+.PP
+This command provides several operations on a file's name or attributes.
+\fIName\fR is the name of a file; if it starts with a tilde, then tilde
+substitution is done before executing the command (see the manual entry for
+\fBfilename\fR for details). \fIOption\fR indicates what to do with the
+file name. Any unique abbreviation for \fIoption\fR is acceptable. The
+valid options are:
+.TP
+\fBfile atime \fIname\fR ?\fBtime\fR?
+.
+Returns a decimal string giving the time at which file \fIname\fR was last
+accessed. If \fItime\fR is specified, it is an access time to set
+for the file. The time is measured in the standard POSIX fashion as
+seconds from a fixed starting time (often January 1, 1970). If the file
+doesn't exist or its access time cannot be queried or set then an error is
+generated. On Windows, FAT file systems do not support access time.
+.TP
+\fBfile attributes \fIname\fR
+.TP
+\fBfile attributes \fIname\fR ?\fBoption\fR?
+.TP
+\fBfile attributes \fIname\fR ?\fBoption value option value...\fR?
+.RS
+This subcommand returns or sets platform specific values associated
+with a file. The first form returns a list of the platform specific
+flags and their values. The second form returns the value for the
+specific option. The third form sets one or more of the values. The
+values are as follows:
+.PP
+On Unix, \fB-group\fR gets or sets the group name for the file. A group id
+can be given to the command, but it returns a group name. \fB-owner\fR gets
+or sets the user name of the owner of the file. The command returns the
+owner name, but the numerical id can be passed when setting the
+owner. \fB-permissions\fR sets or retrieves the octal code that chmod(1)
+uses. This command does also has limited support for setting using the
+symbolic attributes for chmod(1), of the form [ugo]?[[+\-=][rwxst],[...]],
+where multiple symbolic attributes can be separated by commas (example:
+\fBu+s,go\-rw\fR add sticky bit for user, remove read and write
+permissions for group and other). A simplified \fBls\fR style string,
+of the form rwxrwxrwx (must be 9 characters), is also supported
+(example: \fBrwxr\-xr\-t\fR is equivalent to 01755).
+On versions of Unix supporting file flags, \fB-readonly\fR gives the
+value or sets or clears the readonly attribute of the file,
+i.e. the user immutable flag \fBuchg\fR to chflags(1).
+.PP
+On Windows, \fB-archive\fR gives the value or sets or clears the
+archive attribute of the file. \fB-hidden\fR gives the value or sets
+or clears the hidden attribute of the file. \fB-longname\fR will
+expand each path element to its long version. This attribute cannot be
+set. \fB-readonly\fR gives the value or sets or clears the readonly
+attribute of the file. \fB-shortname\fR gives a string where every
+path element is replaced with its short (8.3) version of the
+name. This attribute cannot be set. \fB-system\fR gives or sets or
+clears the value of the system attribute of the file.
+.PP
+On Mac OS X and Darwin, \fB-creator\fR gives or sets the
+Finder creator type of the file. \fB-hidden\fR gives or sets or clears
+the hidden attribute of the file. \fB-readonly\fR gives or sets or
+clears the readonly attribute of the file. \fB-rsrclength\fR gives
+the length of the resource fork of the file, this attribute can only be
+set to the value 0, which results in the resource fork being stripped
+off the file.
+.RE
+.TP
+\fBfile channels ?\fIpattern\fR?
+.
+If \fIpattern\fR isn't specified, returns a list of names of all
+registered open channels in this interpreter. If \fIpattern\fR is
+specified, only those names matching \fIpattern\fR are returned. Matching
+is determined using the same rules as for \fBstring match\fR.
+.TP
+\fBfile copy \fR?\fB\-force\fR? ?\fB\-\|\-\fR? \fIsource\fR \fItarget\fR
+.TP
+\fBfile copy \fR?\fB\-force\fR? ?\fB\-\|\-\fR? \fIsource\fR ?\fIsource\fR ...? \fItargetDir\fR
+.RS
+The first form makes a copy of the file or directory \fIsource\fR under
+the pathname \fItarget\fR. If \fItarget\fR is an existing directory,
+then the second form is used. The second form makes a copy inside
+\fItargetDir\fR of each \fIsource\fR file listed. If a directory is
+specified as a \fIsource\fR, then the contents of the directory will be
+recursively copied into \fItargetDir\fR. Existing files will not be
+overwritten unless the \fB\-force\fR option is specified (when Tcl will
+also attempt to adjust permissions on the destination file or directory
+if that is necessary to allow the copy to proceed). When copying
+within a single filesystem, \fIfile copy\fR will copy soft links (i.e.
+the links themselves are copied, not the things they point to). Trying
+to overwrite a non-empty directory, overwrite a directory with a file,
+or overwrite a file with a directory will all result in errors even if
+\fI\-force\fR was specified. Arguments are processed in the order
+specified, halting at the first error, if any. A \fB\-\|\-\fR marks
+the end of switches; the argument following the \fB\-\|\-\fR will be
+treated as a \fIsource\fR even if it starts with a \fB\-\fR.
+.RE
+.TP
+\fBfile delete \fR?\fB\-force\fR? ?\fB\-\|\-\fR? \fIpathname\fR ?\fIpathname\fR ... ?
+.
+Removes the file or directory specified by each \fIpathname\fR
+argument. Non-empty directories will be removed only if the
+\fB\-force\fR option is specified. When operating on symbolic links,
+the links themselves will be deleted, not the objects they point to.
+Trying to delete a non-existent file is not considered an error.
+Trying to delete a read-only file will cause the file to be deleted,
+even if the \fB\-force\fR flags is not specified. If the \fB\-force\fR
+option is specified on a directory, Tcl will attempt both to change
+permissions and move the current directory 'pwd' out of the given path
+if that is necessary to allow the deletion to proceed. Arguments are
+processed in the order specified, halting at the first error, if any.
+A \fB\-\|\-\fR marks the end of switches; the argument following the
+\fB\-\|\-\fR will be treated as a \fIpathname\fR even if it starts with
+a \fB\-\fR.
+.TP
+\fBfile dirname \fIname\fR
+Returns a name comprised of all of the path components in \fIname\fR
+excluding the last element. If \fIname\fR is a relative file name and
+only contains one path element, then returns ``\fB.\fR''. If \fIname\fR
+refers to a root directory, then the root directory is returned. For
+example,
+.RS
+.CS
+\fBfile dirname c:/\fR
+.CE
+returns \fBc:/\fR.
+.PP
+Note that tilde substitution will only be
+performed if it is necessary to complete the command. For example,
+.CS
+\fBfile dirname ~/src/foo.c\fR
+.CE
+returns \fB~/src\fR, whereas
+.CS
+\fBfile dirname ~\fR
+.CE
+returns \fB/home\fR (or something similar).
+.RE
+.TP
+\fBfile executable \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns \fB1\fR if file \fIname\fR is executable by the current user,
+\fB0\fR otherwise.
+.TP
+\fBfile exists \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns \fB1\fR if file \fIname\fR exists and the current user has
+search privileges for the directories leading to it, \fB0\fR otherwise.
+.TP
+\fBfile extension \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns all of the characters in \fIname\fR after and including the last
+dot in the last element of \fIname\fR. If there is no dot in the last
+element of \fIname\fR then returns the empty string.
+.TP
+\fBfile isdirectory \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns \fB1\fR if file \fIname\fR is a directory, \fB0\fR otherwise.
+.TP
+\fBfile isfile \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns \fB1\fR if file \fIname\fR is a regular file, \fB0\fR otherwise.
+.TP
+\fBfile join \fIname\fR ?\fIname ...\fR?
+.
+Takes one or more file names and combines them, using the correct path
+separator for the current platform. If a particular \fIname\fR is
+relative, then it will be joined to the previous file name argument.
+Otherwise, any earlier arguments will be discarded, and joining will
+proceed from the current argument. For example,
+.RS
+.CS
+\fBfile join a b /foo bar\fR
+.CE
+returns \fB/foo/bar\fR.
+.PP
+Note that any of the names can contain separators, and that the result
+is always canonical for the current platform: \fB/\fR for Unix and
+Windows.
+.RE
+.TP
+\fBfile link ?\fI-linktype\fR? \fIlinkName\fR ?\fItarget\fR?
+.
+If only one argument is given, that argument is assumed to be
+\fIlinkName\fR, and this command returns the value of the link given by
+\fIlinkName\fR (i.e. the name of the file it points to). If
+\fIlinkName\fR isn't a link or its value cannot be read (as, for example,
+seems to be the case with hard links, which look just like ordinary
+files), then an error is returned.
+.
+If 2 arguments are given, then these are assumed to be \fIlinkName\fR
+and \fItarget\fR. If \fIlinkName\fR already exists, or if \fItarget\fR
+doesn't exist, an error will be returned. Otherwise, Tcl creates a new
+link called \fIlinkName\fR which points to the existing filesystem
+object at \fItarget\fR (which is also the returned value), where the
+type of the link is platform-specific (on Unix a symbolic link will be
+the default). This is useful for the case where the user wishes to
+create a link in a cross-platform way, and doesn't care what type of
+link is created.
+.
+If the user wishes to make a link of a specific type only, (and signal an
+error if for some reason that is not possible), then the optional
+\fI-linktype\fR argument should be given. Accepted values for
+\fI-linktype\fR are "-symbolic" and "-hard".
+.
+On Unix, symbolic links can be made to relative paths, and those paths
+must be relative to the actual \fIlinkName\fR's location (not to the
+cwd), but on all other platforms where relative links are not supported,
+target paths will always be converted to absolute, normalized form
+before the link is created (and therefore relative paths are interpreted
+as relative to the cwd). Furthermore, "~user" paths are always expanded
+to absolute form. When creating links on filesystems that either do not
+support any links, or do not support the specific type requested, an
+error message will be returned. In particular Windows 95, 98 and ME do
+not support any links at present, but most Unix platforms support both
+symbolic and hard links (the latter for files only) and Windows
+NT/2000/XP (on NTFS drives) support symbolic
+directory links and hard file links.
+.TP
+\fBfile lstat \fIname varName\fR
+.
+Same as \fBstat\fR option (see below) except uses the \fIlstat\fR
+kernel call instead of \fIstat\fR. This means that if \fIname\fR
+refers to a symbolic link the information returned in \fIvarName\fR
+is for the link rather than the file it refers to. On systems that
+don't support symbolic links this option behaves exactly the same
+as the \fBstat\fR option.
+.TP
+\fBfile mkdir \fIdir\fR ?\fIdir\fR ...?
+.
+Creates each directory specified. For each pathname \fIdir\fR specified,
+this command will create all non-existing parent directories as
+well as \fIdir\fR itself. If an existing directory is specified, then
+no action is taken and no error is returned. Trying to overwrite an existing
+file with a directory will result in an error. Arguments are processed in
+the order specified, halting at the first error, if any.
+.TP
+\fBfile mtime \fIname\fR ?\fItime\fR?
+.
+Returns a decimal string giving the time at which file \fIname\fR was last
+modified. If \fItime\fR is specified, it is a modification time to set for
+the file (equivalent to Unix \fBtouch\fR). The time is measured in the
+standard POSIX fashion as seconds from a fixed starting time (often January
+1, 1970). If the file doesn't exist or its modified time cannot be queried
+or set then an error is generated.
+.TP
+\fBfile nativename \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns the platform-specific name of the file. This is useful if the
+filename is needed to pass to a platform-specific call, such as exec
+under Windows.
+.TP
+\fBfile normalize \fIname\fR
+.
+.RS
+Returns a unique normalized path representation for the file-system
+object (file, directory, link, etc), whose string value can be used as a
+unique identifier for it. A normalized path is an absolute path which has
+all '../', './' removed. Also it is one which is in the ``standard''
+format for the native platform. On Unix, this means the segments
+leading up to the path must be free of symbolic links/aliases (but the
+very last path component may be a symbolic link), and on Windows it also
+means we want the long form with that form's case-dependence (which
+gives us a unique, case-dependent path). The one exception concerning the
+last link in the path is necessary, because Tcl or the user may wish to
+operate on the actual symbolic link itself (for example 'file delete', 'file
+rename', 'file copy' are defined to operate on symbolic links, not on the
+things that they point to).
+.RE
+.TP
+\fBfile owned \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns \fB1\fR if file \fIname\fR is owned by the current user, \fB0\fR
+otherwise.
+.TP
+\fBfile pathtype \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns one of \fBabsolute\fR, \fBrelative\fR, \fBvolumerelative\fR. If
+\fIname\fR refers to a specific file on a specific volume, the path type will
+be \fBabsolute\fR. If \fIname\fR refers to a file relative to the current
+working directory, then the path type will be \fBrelative\fR. If \fIname\fR
+refers to a file relative to the current working directory on a specified
+volume, or to a specific file on the current working volume, then the path
+type is \fBvolumerelative\fR.
+.TP
+\fBfile readable \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns \fB1\fR if file \fIname\fR is readable by the current user,
+\fB0\fR otherwise.
+.TP
+\fBfile readlink \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns the value of the symbolic link given by \fIname\fR (i.e. the name
+of the file it points to). If \fIname\fR isn't a symbolic link or its
+value cannot be read, then an error is returned. On systems that don't
+support symbolic links this option is undefined.
+.TP
+\fBfile rename \fR?\fB\-force\fR? ?\fB\-\|\-\fR? \fIsource\fR \fItarget\fR
+.TP
+\fBfile rename \fR?\fB\-force\fR? ?\fB\-\|\-\fR? \fIsource\fR ?\fIsource\fR ...? \fItargetDir\fR
+.RS
+The first form takes the file or directory specified by pathname
+\fIsource\fR and renames it to \fItarget\fR, moving the file if the
+pathname \fItarget\fR specifies a name in a different directory. If
+\fItarget\fR is an existing directory, then the second form is used.
+The second form moves each \fIsource\fR file or directory into the
+directory \fItargetDir\fR. Existing files will not be overwritten
+unless the \fB\-force\fR option is specified. When operating inside a
+single filesystem, Tcl will rename symbolic links rather than the
+things that they point to. Trying to overwrite a non-empty directory,
+overwrite a directory with a file, or a file with a directory will all
+result in errors. Arguments are processed in the order specified,
+halting at the first error, if any. A \fB\-\|\-\fR marks the end of
+switches; the argument following the \fB\-\|\-\fR will be treated as a
+\fIsource\fR even if it starts with a \fB\-\fR.
+.RE
+.TP
+\fBfile rootname \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns all of the characters in \fIname\fR up to but not including the
+last ``.'' character in the last component of name. If the last
+component of \fIname\fR doesn't contain a dot, then returns \fIname\fR.
+.TP
+\fBfile separator\fR ?\fIname\fR?
+.
+If no argument is given, returns the character which is used to separate
+path segments for native files on this platform. If a path is given,
+the filesystem responsible for that path is asked to return its
+separator character. If no file system accepts \fIname\fR, an error
+is generated.
+.TP
+\fBfile size \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns a decimal string giving the size of file \fIname\fR in bytes. If
+the file doesn't exist or its size cannot be queried then an error is
+generated.
+.TP
+\fBfile split \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns a list whose elements are the path components in \fIname\fR. The
+first element of the list will have the same path type as \fIname\fR.
+All other elements will be relative. Path separators will be discarded
+unless they are needed ensure that an element is unambiguously relative.
+For example, under Unix
+.RS
+.CS
+file split /foo/~bar/baz
+.CE
+returns \fB/\0\0foo\0\0./~bar\0\0baz\fR to ensure that later commands
+that use the third component do not attempt to perform tilde
+substitution.
+.RE
+.TP
+\fBfile stat \fIname varName\fR
+.
+Invokes the \fBstat\fR kernel call on \fIname\fR, and uses the variable
+given by \fIvarName\fR to hold information returned from the kernel call.
+\fIVarName\fR is treated as an array variable, and the following elements
+of that variable are set: \fBatime\fR, \fBctime\fR, \fBdev\fR, \fBgid\fR,
+\fBino\fR, \fBmode\fR, \fBmtime\fR, \fBnlink\fR, \fBsize\fR, \fBtype\fR,
+\fBuid\fR. Each element except \fBtype\fR is a decimal string with the
+value of the corresponding field from the \fBstat\fR return structure;
+see the manual entry for \fBstat\fR for details on the meanings of the
+values. The \fBtype\fR element gives the type of the file in the same
+form returned by the command \fBfile type\fR. This command returns an
+empty string.
+.TP
+\fBfile system \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns a list of one or two elements, the first of which is the name of
+the filesystem to use for the file, and the second, if given, an
+arbitrary string representing the filesystem-specific nature or type of
+the location within that filesystem. If a filesystem only supports one
+type of file, the second element may not be supplied. For example the
+native files have a first element 'native', and a second element which
+when given is a platform-specific type name for the file's system
+(e.g. 'NTFS', 'FAT', on Windows). A generic virtual file system might return
+the list 'vfs ftp' to represent a file on a remote ftp site mounted as a
+virtual filesystem through an extension called 'vfs'. If the file does
+not belong to any filesystem, an error is generated.
+.TP
+\fBfile tail \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns all of the characters in the last filesystem component of
+\fIname\fR. Any trailing directory separator in \fIname\fR is ignored.
+If \fIname\fR contains no separators then returns \fIname\fR. So,
+\fBfile tail a/b\fR, \fBfile tail a/b/\fR and \fBfile tail b\fR all
+return \fBb\fR.
+.TP
+\fBfile type \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns a string giving the type of file \fIname\fR, which will be one of
+\fBfile\fR, \fBdirectory\fR, \fBcharacterSpecial\fR, \fBblockSpecial\fR,
+\fBfifo\fR, \fBlink\fR, or \fBsocket\fR.
+.TP
+\fBfile volumes\fR
+.
+Returns the absolute paths to the volumes mounted on the system, as a
+proper Tcl list. Without any virtual filesystems mounted as root
+volumes, on UNIX, the command will always return "/", since all
+filesystems are locally mounted.
+On Windows, it will return a list of the available local drives
+(e.g. {a:/ c:/}). If any virtual filesystem has mounted additional
+volumes, they will be in the returned list.
+.TP
+\fBfile writable \fIname\fR
+.
+Returns \fB1\fR if file \fIname\fR is writable by the current user,
+\fB0\fR otherwise.
+.SH "PORTABILITY ISSUES"
+.TP
+\fBUnix\fR\0\0\0\0\0\0\0
+.
+These commands always operate using the real user and group identifiers,
+not the effective ones.
+.SH EXAMPLES
+This procedure shows how to search for C files in a given directory
+that have a correspondingly-named object file in the current
+directory:
+.CS
+proc findMatchingCFiles {dir} {
+ set files {}
+ switch $::tcl_platform(platform) {
+ windows {
+ set ext .obj
+ }
+ unix {
+ set ext .o
+ }
+ }
+ foreach file [glob -nocomplain -directory $dir *.c] {
+ set objectFile [\fBfile tail\fR [\fBfile rootname\fR $file]]$ext
+ if {[\fBfile exists\fR $objectFile]} {
+ lappend files $file
+ }
+ }
+ return $files
+}
+.CE
+.PP
+Rename a file and leave a symbolic link pointing from the old location
+to the new place:
+.CS
+set oldName foobar.txt
+set newName foo/bar.txt
+# Make sure that where we're going to move to exists...
+if {![\fBfile isdirectory\fR [\fBfile dirname\fR $newName]]} {
+ \fBfile mkdir\fR [\fBfile dirname\fR $newName]
+}
+\fBfile rename\fR $oldName $newName
+\fBfile link\fR -symbolic $oldName $newName
+.CE
+
+.SH "SEE ALSO"
+filename(n), open(n), close(n), eof(n), gets(n), tell(n), seek(n),
+fblocked(n), flush(n)
+
+.SH KEYWORDS
+attributes, copy files, delete files, directory, file, move files, name, rename files, stat