unlink function

C

Function

Reference manual

@see man unlink

The unlink function is used to delete a name from the file system. If the name was the last link to the file, the file is deleted and its space is deallocated.

Syntax

#include <unistd.h>

int unlink(const char *pathname);

Parameters

• pathname: The path to the file to be unlinked (deleted).

Return value

• If the file is successfully unlinked, the function returns 0.

• If an error occurs, -1 is returned, and errno is set to indicate the error.

Usage example

#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <unistd.h>

int main(void)
{
    if (unlink("file.txt") == -1)
    {
        perror("Failed to unlink file");
        return (EXIT_FAILURE);
    }
    printf("File unlinked successfully\n");
    return (EXIT_SUCCESS);
}