1. Home
  2. Computing & Technology
  3. Perl

How to get the size of a file in Perl using file test operators.

From , former About.com Guide

Perl has a set of useful File Test Operators that can be used to quickly get information about the file system like the existence of a file, or the size. Lets take a quick look at how to get the file size in bytes using File Test Operators.
#!/usr/bin/perl -w

$filename = '/path/to/your/file.doc';
$filesize = -s $filename;
print $filesize;
Simple enough, right? First you create a string that contains the path to the file that you want to test, then you use the -s File Test Operator on it. You could easily shorten this to one line using simply:
print -s '/path/to/your/file.doc';
Also, keep in mind that this will always return true if a file is larger than zero bytes, but will be false if the file size is zero. It makes a handy and quick way to check for zero byte files.
More Perl Quick Tips
Explore Perl
About.com Special Features

The Best Web Trends of the Decade

A look back at the best innovations, ideas and technologies over the last 10 years, More >

Family Tech Center

Stay connected and entertained with reviews on tips on the latest HDTVs, cellphones and more. More >

  1. Home
  2. Computing & Technology
  3. Perl
  4. Programming Perl
  5. File System
  6. Perl file size tutorial - How to get the size of a file in Perl using file test operators.

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.