recursive directory delete

Question

hi,

I have some ftp remote directories that contain recursive files and subdirectories...

i want to be able to delete a given ftp directory and all its contents (files and sub directories) recursively and finally delete the directory itself .

i think this could be done using a ftp command and the quote() method .but i don't know which ftp command to use nor how to use it.

can someone show me some java code to do this ftp dir recursive delete ?

thanks.

Answer 1

There is no standard way of recursively deleting directories in FTP. Some FTP servers support directory deletion through SITE commands. For example, ProFTPD has the "SITE RMDIR {path}" command. You can invoke this command from FTPClient using the following code:

ftpClient.site("SITE RMDIR " + directoryName);

but again this is not a standard command and, though probably supported by a few different servers, it is not supported by most servers.

The most reliable way of doing it is to write a recursive method that walks the tree, deleting each file and directory individually.

- Hans (EnterpriseDT)

Answer 2

thank you for replying...
yes i tried to write my own recursive method ,but i'm still not able getting it work correctly.
below are 3 java methods.i'm using free edtftp version.
i call the method deleteDirectory(..) but it is not working..
can you help me fix my below code to make it work ?
thanks.

 public static void forceDelete(FTPClient client,FTPFile  file) throws Exception {
        if (file.isDir()) {
            deleteDirectory(client,file);
        } else {
           /* if (!client.exists(file.getName())) {
                throw new FileNotFoundException("File does not exist: " + file);
            }*/
            client.delete(file.getName());
           /* if (!file.delete()) {
                String message =
                    "Unable to delete file: " + file;
                throw new IOException(message);
            }*/
        }
    }
    //-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    /**
     * Recursively delete a directory.
     *
     * @param directory  directory to delete
     * @throws IOException in case deletion is unsuccessful
     */
    public static void deleteDirectory(FTPClient client,FTPFile directory) throws Exception {
       /* if (!client.exists(directory.getName())) {
            return;
        }*/

        cleanDirectory(client,directory);
        client.cdup();
        client.rmdir(directory.getName());
        /*if (!directory.delete()) {
            String message =
                "Unable to delete directory " + directory + ".";
            throw new IOException(message);
        }*/
    }

    /**
     * Clean a directory without deleting it.
     *
     * @param directory directory to clean
     * @throws IOException in case cleaning is unsuccessful
     */
    public static void cleanDirectory(FTPClient client,FTPFile directory) throws Exception {
       String filePath=directory.getName();
      String path=null;
      /*FTPFile f=(FTPFile)Utils.p_ftpFiles.get(filePath);
         if(f==null)
         return;*/
            
       path=(directory.getPath()==null)? ("/"+filePath):directory.getPath();
      
      // client.chdir(directory.getName());
       
       
       /*if (!client.exists(directory.getName())) {
            String message = directory + " does not exist";
            throw new IllegalArgumentException(message);
        }*/

        if (directory.isDir() && !directory.isLink()) {
        client.chdir(path);
          //  String message = directory + " is not a directory";
           // throw new IllegalArgumentException(message);
       

        FTPFile[] files = client.dirDetails(path);
        if (files == null || files.length==0) {  // null if security restricted
           client.cdup();
            client.rmdir(directory.getName());
        }

       
        for (int i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {
           FTPFile file = files[i];           
            forceDelete(client,file);
           
        }

       
        }
    }

Answer 3

I forgot to mention that the commercial version of edtFTPj/PRO has methods for recursively deleting directories. As you've discovered it is a lot harder you might think. edtFTPj/PRO has a wealth of other features that will probably save you a lot of time and your boss a lot of money.

- Hans (EnterpriseDT)