File Module

The file module contains extension functions to perform file system related operations, such as listing, reading, or writing files. All functions are preceded by the file: prefix. Some changes might happen to this module, as it is currently aligned with the upcoming EXPath specification.

file:exists

Signatures	file:exists($path as xs:string) as xs:boolean
Summary	Checks if a path exist.
Rules	This function returns an xs:boolean indicating whether a file or directory specified by $path exists in the file system.

file:is-directory

Signatures	file:is-directory($path as xs:string) as xs:boolean
Summary	Checks if a path points to a directory.
Rules	This function returns an xs:boolean indicating whether the argument $path points to an existing directory.

file:is-file

Signatures	file:is-file($path as xs:string) as xs:boolean
Summary	Checks if a path points to a file.
Rules	This function returns an xs:boolean indicating whether the argument $path points to an existing file.

file:is-readable

Signatures	file:is-readable($path as xs:string) as xs:boolean
Summary	Checks if a file is readable.
Rules	This function returns an xs:boolean indicating whether the file specified by $path exists and is readable.

file:is-writable

Signatures	file:is-writable($path as xs:string) as xs:boolean
Summary	Checks if a file is writable.
Rules	This function returns an xs:boolean indicating whether the file specified by $path exists and is writable.

file:last-modified

Signatures	file:last-modified($path as xs:string) as xs:dateTime
Summary	Returns the timestamp of a path.
Rules	This function retrieves the timestamp of the last modification of the file or directory specified by $path.
Errors	[FOFL0001] is raised if the specified path does not exist.

file:size

Signatures	file:size($path as xs:string) as xs:integer
Summary	Returns the size of a file.
Rules	This function returns the size, in bytes, of the file specified by $path. The return value is unspecified if the argument points to a directory.
Errors	[FOFL0001] is raised if the specified path does not exist.

file:list

Signatures	file:list($path as xs:string) as xs:string* file:list($path as xs:string, $recursive as xs:boolean) as xs:string* file:list($path as xs:string, $recursive as xs:boolean, $pattern as xs:string) as xs:string*
Summary	Lists the contents of a directory.
Rules	This function lists all files and directories found in the directory that is specified by $path. The returned paths are relative to the provided path. The optional parameter $recursive specifies whether the sub-directories are to be recursed as well. The optional parameter $pattern defines a file name pattern. If present, only those files and directories are returned that correspond to the pattern. A pattern may contain asterisks (*) to match zero or more characters, and question marks (?) to match single characters. Several patterns can be separated with a comma (,).
Errors	[FOFL0001] is raised if the specified path does not exist. [FOFL0003] is raised if the specified path does not point to a directory. [FOFL0008] is raised if the operation fails for some other reason.

file:create-directory

Signatures	file:create-directory($path as xs:string) as empty-sequence()
Summary	Creates a new directory path.
Rules	This function recursively creates the directories specified by $path.
Errors	[FOFL0002] is raised if a file with the same path already exists. [FOFL0006] is raised if the specified path is invalid (e.g., contains invalid characters). [FOFL0008] is raised if the operation fails for some other reason.

file:delete

Signatures	file:delete($path as xs:string) as empty-sequence() file:delete($path as xs:string, $recursive as xs:boolean) as empty-sequence()
Summary	Deletes a file or directory.
Rules	This function deletes a file or directory specified by $path. No operation will be performed if the specified path does not exist. If the optional parameter $recursive is provided, the operation is performed recursively for all sub-directories of the given path.
Errors	[FOFL0005] is raised if $recursive is not specified or set to false, and if the specified path points to a non-empty directory. [FOFL0008] is raised if the operation fails for some other reason.

file:read

Signatures	file:read($path as xs:string) as xs:string file:read($path as xs:string, $encoding as xs:string) as xs:string
Summary	Reads the contents a file.
Rules	This function reads the textual contents of the file specified by $path and returns it as a xs:string. The optional parameter $encoding defines the encoding of the file.
Errors	[FOFL0001] is raised if the specified file does not exist. [FOFL0004] is raised if the specified path is a directory. [FOFL0007] is raised if the specified encoding is not supported, or unknown. [FOFL0008] is raised if the operation fails for some other reason.

file:read-binary

Signatures	file:read-binary($path as xs:string) as xs:base64Binary
Summary	Reads the binary contents of a file.
Rules	This function reads the binary content of the file specified by $path and returns as a xs:base64Binary.
Errors	[FOFL0001] is raised if the specified file does not exist. [FOFL0004] is raised if the specified path is a directory. [FOFL0008] is raised if the operation fails for some other reason.

file:write

Signatures	file:write($path as xs:string, $items as xs:item()*) as empty-sequence() file:write($path as xs:string, $items as xs:item()*, $params as xs:node()*) as empty-sequence() file:write($path as xs:string, $items as xs:item()*, $params as xs:node()*, $append as xs:boolean) as empty-sequence()
Summary	Writes a sequence of items to a file.
Rules	This function writes a sequence, specified by $items, to a file specified by $path. If the specified file already exists, it will be overwritten. The optional argument $params is used to set the serialization parameters, as defined in XSLT 2.0 and XQuery 1.0 Serialization. If the $append flag is set to true, the serialized items are appended to the original file. If the file does not exist, a new one is created.
Errors	[FOFL0004] is raised if the specified path is a directory. [FOFL0008] is raised if the operation fails for some other reason.

file:write-binary

Signatures	file:write-binary($path as xs:string, $item as xs:base64Binary) as empty-sequence() file:write-binary($path as xs:string, $item as xs:base64Binary, $append as xs:boolean) as empty-sequence()
Summary	Writes a sequence of items to a file.
Rules	This function writes a xs:basex64Binary item specified by $item to a file specified by $path. If the specified file already exists, it will be overwritten. If the $append flag is set to true, the serialized item is appended to the original file. If the file does not exist, a new one is created.
Errors	[FOFL0004] is raised if the specified path is a directory. [FOFL0008] is raised if the operation fails for some other reason.

file:copy

Signatures	file:copy($source as xs:string, $target as xs:string) as empty-sequence()
Summary	Copies a file.
Rules	This function copies a file specified by $source to the file or directory specified by $target. If the target represents an existing file, it will be overwritten. No operation will be performed if the source and target path are equal.
Errors	[FOFL0001] is raised if the specified source does not exist. [FOFL0004] is raised if the specified source is a directory. [FOFL0006] is raised if the specified target path points to a file in a non-existing directory. [FOFL0008] is raised if the operation fails for some other reason.

file:move

Signatures	file:move($source as xs:string, $target as xs:string) as empty-sequence()
Summary	Moves a file.
Rules	This function moves, or renames, the file or directory specified by $source to the path specified by $target. No operation will be performed if the source and target path are equal.
Errors	[FOFL0001] is raised if the specified source does not exist. [FOFL0006] is raised if the specified target path points to a file in a non-existing directory. [FOFL0008] is raised if the operation fails for some other reason.

file:path-separator

Signatures	file:path-separator() as xs:string
Summary	Returns the path separator.
Rules	This function returns the path separator used by the operating system.

file:path-to-full-path

Signatures	file:path-to-full-path($path as xs:string) as xs:string
Summary	Returns a full path representation.
Rules	This function transforms the path specified by $path into a full operating system path.

file:path-to-uri

Signatures	file:path-to-uri($path as xs:string) as xs:string
Summary	Returns a URI representation.
Rules	This function transforms the path specified by $path into a URI with the file:// scheme.