How can I create directory tree in C++/Linux?

Question

I want an easy way to create multiple directories in C++/Linux.

For example I want to save a file lola.file in the directory:

/tmp/a/b/c

but if the directories are not there I want them to be created automagically. A working example would be perfect.

Answer 1

The others got you the right answer, but I thought I'd demonstrate another neat thing you can do:

mkdir -p /tmp/a/{b,c}/d

Will create the following paths:

/tmp/a/b/d
/tmp/a/c/d

The braces allow you to create multiple directories at once on the same level of the hierarchy, whereas the -p option means "create parent directories as needed".

Answer 2

Here's a C function that can be compiled with C++ compilers.

/*
@(#)File:           $RCSfile: mkpath.c,v $
@(#)Version:        $Revision: 1.13 $
@(#)Last changed:   $Date: 2012/07/15 00:40:37 $
@(#)Purpose:        Create all directories in path
@(#)Author:         J Leffler
@(#)Copyright:      (C) JLSS 1990-91,1997-98,2001,2005,2008,2012
*/

/*TABSTOP=4*/

#include "jlss.h"
#include "emalloc.h"

#include <errno.h>
#ifdef HAVE_UNISTD_H
#include <unistd.h>
#endif /* HAVE_UNISTD_H */
#include <string.h>
#include "sysstat.h"    /* Fix up for Windows - inc mode_t */

typedef struct stat Stat;

#ifndef lint
/* Prevent over-aggressive optimizers from eliminating ID string */
const char jlss_id_mkpath_c[] = "@(#)$Id: mkpath.c,v 1.13 2012/07/15 00:40:37 jleffler Exp $";
#endif /* lint */

static int do_mkdir(const char *path, mode_t mode)
{
    Stat            st;
    int             status = 0;

    if (stat(path, &st) != 0)
    {
        /* Directory does not exist. EEXIST for race condition */
        if (mkdir(path, mode) != 0 && errno != EEXIST)
            status = -1;
    }
    else if (!S_ISDIR(st.st_mode))
    {
        errno = ENOTDIR;
        status = -1;
    }

    return(status);
}

/**
** mkpath - ensure all directories in path exist
** Algorithm takes the pessimistic view and works top-down to ensure
** each directory in path exists, rather than optimistically creating
** the last element and working backwards.
*/
int mkpath(const char *path, mode_t mode)
{
    char           *pp;
    char           *sp;
    int             status;
    char           *copypath = STRDUP(path);

    status = 0;
    pp = copypath;
    while (status == 0 && (sp = strchr(pp, '/')) != 0)
    {
        if (sp != pp)
        {
            /* Neither root nor double slash in path */
            *sp = '\0';
            status = do_mkdir(copypath, mode);
            *sp = '/';
        }
        pp = sp + 1;
    }
    if (status == 0)
        status = do_mkdir(path, mode);
    FREE(copypath);
    return (status);
}

#ifdef TEST

#include <stdio.h>

/*
** Stress test with parallel running of mkpath() function.
** Before the EEXIST test, code would fail.
** With the EEXIST test, code does not fail.
**
** Test shell script
** PREFIX=mkpath.$$
** NAME=./$PREFIX/sa/32/ad/13/23/13/12/13/sd/ds/ww/qq/ss/dd/zz/xx/dd/rr/ff/ff/ss/ss/ss/ss/ss/ss/ss/ss
** : ${MKPATH:=mkpath}
** ./$MKPATH $NAME &
** [...repeat a dozen times or so...]
** ./$MKPATH $NAME &
** wait
** rm -fr ./$PREFIX/
*/

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
    int             i;

    for (i = 1; i < argc; i++)
    {
        for (int j = 0; j < 20; j++)
        {
            if (fork() == 0)
            {
                int rc = mkpath(argv[i], 0777);
                if (rc != 0)
                    fprintf(stderr, "%d: failed to create (%d: %s): %s\n",
                            (int)getpid(), errno, strerror(errno), argv[i]);
                exit(rc == 0 ? EXIT_SUCCESS : EXIT_FAILURE);
            }
        }
        int status;
        int fail = 0;
        while (wait(&status) != -1)
        {
            if (WEXITSTATUS(status) != 0)
                fail = 1;
        }
        if (fail == 0)
            printf("created: %s\n", argv[i]);
    }
    return(0);
}

#endif /* TEST */

The macros STRDUP() and FREE() are error-checking versions of strdup() and free(), declared in emalloc.h (and implemented in emalloc.c and estrdup.c). The "sysstat.h" header deals with broken versions of <sys/stat.h> and can be replaced by <sys/stat.h> on modern Unix systems (but there were many issues back in 1990). And "jlss.h" declares mkpath().

The change between v1.12 (previous) and v1.13 (above) is the test for EEXIST in do_mkdir(). This was pointed out as necessary by Switch — thank you, Switch. The test code has been upgraded and reproduced the problem on a MacBook Pro (2.3GHz Intel Core i7, running Mac OS X 10.7.4), and suggests that the problem is fixed in the revision (but testing can only show the presence of bugs, never their absence).

(You are hereby given permission to use this code for any purpose with attribution.)

Answer 3

bool mkpath( std::string path )
{
    bool bSuccess = false;
    int nRC = ::mkdir( path.c_str(), 0775 );
    if( nRC == -1 )
    {
        switch( errno )
        {
            case ENOENT:
                //parent didn't exist, try to create it
                if( mkpath( path.substr(0, path.find_last_of('/')) ) )
                    //Now, try to create again.
                    bSuccess = 0 == ::mkdir( path.c_str(), 0775 );
                else
                    bSuccess = false;
                break;
            case EEXIST:
                //Done!
                bSuccess = true;
                break;
            default:
                bSuccess = false;
                break;
        }
    }
    else
        bSuccess = true;
    return bSuccess;
}