Directory Operations

This section covers the Windows API functions and structures used for managing directories within the file system. These operations allow you to create, delete, enumerate, and manipulate directory objects.

Core Concepts

Directories are fundamental components of the file system, providing a hierarchical structure for organizing files and other directories. Key concepts include:

• Directory Handles: A handle is a unique value that identifies an open directory.
• Directory Paths: String representations of the location of a directory within the file system.
• Directory Iteration: The process of traversing the contents of a directory, typically involving files and subdirectories.

Key Functions

Creating and Deleting Directories

These functions are used to create new directories and remove existing ones.

Function	Description
CreateDirectory	Creates a new directory.
CreateDirectoryEx	Creates a new directory, allowing specification of security attributes.
RemoveDirectory	Removes an empty directory.

Enumerating Directory Contents

These functions allow you to retrieve information about the files and subdirectories within a given directory.

Function	Description
FindFirstFile	Begins the enumeration of a directory or file search.
FindNextFile	Retrieves the next file or directory in the search.
FindClose	Closes the search handle.

Detailed Function References

CreateDirectory

Signature:

BOOL CreateDirectory(
      LPCTSTR lpPathName,
      LPSECURITY_ATTRIBUTES lpAttribute
    );

Parameters:

• lpPathName: The path of the directory to be created.
• lpAttribute: Security attributes for the directory (can be NULL).

Return Value: TRUE if the directory was created successfully, FALSE otherwise.

CreateDirectoryEx

Signature:

BOOL CreateDirectoryEx(
      LPCTSTR lpTemplateDirectory,
      LPCTSTR lpNewDirectory,
      LPSECURITY_ATTRIBUTES lpSecurityAttributes
    );

Parameters:

• lpTemplateDirectory: Path to a directory whose attributes are copied to the new directory.
• lpNewDirectory: Path of the new directory to create.
• lpSecurityAttributes: Security attributes.

Return Value: TRUE on success, FALSE on failure.

RemoveDirectory

Signature:

BOOL RemoveDirectory(
      LPCTSTR lpPathName
    );

Parameters:

• lpPathName: The path of the directory to remove. The directory must be empty.

Return Value: TRUE if the directory was removed successfully, FALSE otherwise.

FindFirstFile

Signature:

HANDLE FindFirstFile(
      LPCTSTR lpFileName,
      LPWIN32_FIND_DATA lpFindFileData
    );

Parameters:

• lpFileName: The directory or file name pattern.
• lpFindFileData: A pointer to a WIN32_FIND_DATA structure that receives information about the file or directory.

Return Value: A handle to the search, or INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE if an error occurs.

FindNextFile

Signature:

BOOL FindNextFile(
      HANDLE hFindFile,
      LPWIN32_FIND_DATA lpFindFileData
    );

Parameters:

• hFindFile: Handle returned by FindFirstFile.
• lpFindFileData: Pointer to receive file data.

Return Value: TRUE if a file is found, FALSE if no more files are found or an error occurs.

FindClose

Signature:

BOOL FindClose(
      HANDLE hFindFile
    );

Parameters:

• hFindFile: The search handle to close.

Return Value: TRUE on success, FALSE on failure.