path = './file.txt'
os.remove(path)
import os
os.remove(path) is equal to os.unlink(path), so how can I delete the file if it just becomes unlinked?
Also I haven't tried to yet, but does './file.txt' work as is or do I must provide the full path?
Or do I just need to use the 'file.txt' if it the same folder? Or they both work the same like os.remove(path) and os.unlink(path)?
And if './file.txt' works then what about '../file.txt'?
how can I delete the file if it just becomes unlinked?
When you say "delete", what exactly do you mean? Scrambling the file? Because when most people say "delete", they mean "removing the file system entry", which is exactly what remove/unlink does.
Also I haven't tried to yet, but does './file.txt' work as is or do I must provide the full path?
You can use relative as well as absolute file names. So all of 'file.txt', './file.txt', '../file.txt' and '/path/to/file.txt' will work.
By delete I mean free up the physical space.
Although now you bring something else to my attention because I know about data recovery so if I rewrite the file and then delete it will that be the most secure deletion?
with open(path, 'w'):
os.remove(path)
And will this work for any type of file? Like say an executable, or will it only work for text files?
I don't wanna unlink it but have still have it lingerieng around cluttering up my hard memory.
open(path,"w").write("")
os.remove(path)
Will that zero out the bits and bytes?
If there's no file system entry for a file, it does not consume space. Zeroing the bytes of a file will not make it consume less space, but it will make it harder to recover the file after you delete it. However writing the empty string to a file before deleting it will not zero the bytes. It will do basically nothing (it's pretty much the same as deleting the original file, creating a new empty one and then deleting that as well).
If all you want is to free disk space, just delete the file with unlink/remove.
But open(path, "w")? The "w" overwrites the file, so open(path, "w") all by itself has removed the file and placed a new one in its place with under the exact same name?
I guess I should have thought of an overwrite as a write over.
Fine then how can I zero the bytes and bits out?
And what about open(path, "r+").write("something") and open(path, "a").write("something") won't that change the bits and bytes? Or does it just unlink the file and write a new one it its place?
unlinking bypasses the recycle bin folder?
Python only wraps the lower level system functions which open a file to create a file descriptor or a pointer to file, and the corresponding read or write functions. So, for example you could ask in the C forum if fopen() with mode 'w' physically overwrites existing contents on the drive, or if it may write in a different place.
We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.