The DirectoryInfo class is within the System.IO namespace and serves the purpose of managing directories. This class offers functionalities for creating, deleting, and relocating directories, as well as executing operations on directories and their subdirectories. DirectoryInfo is a sealed class, meaning it cannot be inherited.
The DirectoryInfo class offers a variety of constructors, methods, and properties as outlined:
C# DirectoryInfo Syntax
[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public sealed class DirectoryInfo : FileSystemInfo
C# DirectoryInfo Constructors
The subsequent table displays the constructors available in the DirectoryInfo class.
| Constructor | Description |
|---|---|
| DirectoryInfo(String) | It is used to initialize a new instance of the DirectoryInfo class on the specified path. |
C# DirectoryInfo Properties
The subsequent table displays the attributes of the DirectoryInfo class.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Attributes | It is used to get or set the attributes for the current file or directory. |
| CreationTime | It is used to get or set the creation time of the current file or directory. |
| CreationTimeUtc | It is used to get or set creation time, in coordinated universal time (UTC). |
| Exists | It is used to get a value indicating whether the directory exists. |
| Extension | It is used to get the string representing the extension part of the file. |
| FullName | It is used to get the full path of the directory. |
| LastAccessTime | It is used to get or set the time the current file or directory was last accessed. |
| LastAccessTimeUtc | It is used to get or set the time, in coordinated universal time (UTC) that the current file or directory was last accessed. |
| LastWriteTime | It is used to get or set the time when the current file or directory was last written. |
| LastWriteTimeUtc | It is used to get or set the time, in coordinated universal time (UTC), when the current file or directory was last written. |
Name |
It is used to get the name of this DirectoryInfo instance. |
| Parent | It is used to get the parent directory of a specified subdirectory. |
Root |
It is used to get the root portion of the directory. |
C# DirectoryInfo Methods
The subsequent table displays the techniques of the DirectoryInfo class.
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| Create() | It is used to create a directory. |
| Create(DirectorySecurity) | It is used to create a directory using a DirectorySecurity object. |
| CreateObjRef(Type) | It is used to create an object that contains all the relevant information required to generate a proxy used to communicate with a remote object. |
| CreateSubdirectory(String) | It is used to create a subdirectory or subdirectories on the specified path. |
| CreateSubdirectory(String,DirectorySecurity) | It is used to create a subdirectory or subdirectories on the specified path with the specified security. |
| Delete() | It is used to delete this DirectoryInfo if it is empty. |
| Delete(Boolean) | It is used to delete this instance of a DirectoryInfo, specifying whether to delete subdirectories and files. |
| EnumerateDirectories() | It returns an enumerable collection of directory information in the current directory. |
| EnumerateFiles() | It returns an enumerable collection of file information in the current directory. |
| GetAccessControl() | It is used to get a DirectorySecurity object that encapsulates the access control list (ACL) entries for the directory. |
| GetDirectories() | It returns the subdirectories of the current directory. |
| GetFiles() | It returns a file list from the current directory. |
| GetType() | It is used to get the Type of the current instance. |
| MoveTo(String) | It is used to move a DirectoryInfo instance and its contents to a new path. |
| Refresh() | It is used to refresh the state of the object. |
| SetAccessControl(DirectorySecurity) | It is used to set access control list (ACL) entries described by a DirectorySecurity object. |
| ToString() | It returns the original path that was passed by the user. |
C# DirectoryInfo Example
In this instance, we are establishing a "hello world" directory by indicating the path to the directory.
using System;
using System.IO;
namespace CSharpProgram
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
// Provide directory name with complete location.
DirectoryInfo directory = new DirectoryInfo(@"F:\hello world");
try
{
// Check, directory exist or not.
if (directory.Exists)
{
Console.WriteLine("Directory already exist.");
return;
}
// Creating a new directory.
directory.Create();
Console.WriteLine("The directory is created successfully.");
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Console.WriteLine("Directory not created: {0}", e.ToString());
}
}
}
}
Output:
The directory is created successfully.
In the following image, a new directory has been successfully established.
The code snippet below illustrates the structure of a placeholder using CSS styling:
.placeholder-diagram {
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #374151 0%, #1f2937 100%);
border-radius: 12px;
padding: 40px;
margin: 20px 0;
text-align: center;
}
.placeholder-diagram .placeholder-icon {
font-size: 3rem;
margin-bottom: 10px;
}
.placeholder-diagram .placeholder-text {
color: #9ca3af;
font-size: 1rem;
}
The DirectoryInfo class includes a delete function to remove a directory that has been created. In the subsequent code, we are deleting a directory that was previously established.
C# DirectoryInfo Example: Deleting Directory
using System;
using System.IO;
namespace CSharpProgram
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
// Providing directory name with complete location.
DirectoryInfo directory = new DirectoryInfo(@"F:\hello world");
try
{
// Deleting directory
directory.Delete();
Console.WriteLine("The directory is deleted successfully.");
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Console.WriteLine("Something went wrong: {0}", e.ToString());
}
}
}
}
Output:
The directory is deleted successfully.
It triggers a System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException error when the indicated directory is not found at the specified location.