You’ve probably heard of C+ and C++, but have you heard of C#? It’s one of the leading programming languages, used in game development and Android app development. Fun fact: it’s been around since 1988 and is still in use!
Once you get the hang of C#, the world’s your oyster. It’s platform-agnostic, type-safe, and easy to use like Java. In the beginning, though, little things can trip you up such as creating a C# copy file.
How do you copy C# files from your compiler? Today, we take a closer look.
C# Copying Limitations
Unlike using CLI in the terminal, you can’t just copy a file with the “C” command to a new directory. FileSystemInfo does not allow typical copy and delete options. Remember, this is an executive programming language, so it won’t work like opening a terminal to dig into the directories.
In other words, you can’t just type in the syntax for copying the file as such. You’ll need to create a workaround in the form of a few lines of short code that achieves the same thing. It seems annoying for a simple task, but you’ll soon see it’s pretty straightforward – especially for more complex tasks, like converting a file.
How to Make a C# Copy File
Now, let’s suppose you want to copy a C# PDF to Image from one directory to another. Simple enough, right? We won’t provide the specific lines of code you need; instead, we’ll give you the necessary logic.
Choose Directory and Verify File Exists
In the first line, specify the full directory path as you might in the terminal. Use this code to check that the file exists. If it doesn’t exist, then the program terminates.
If it does exist, then we will collect the full file name and path. This is just in case the process experiences errors. The system needs to terminate without data loss.
Creating a Copy of a File
The next line should copy the file. Copying files is possible, but it’s not like a terminal where you just “-c” from one directory to another. That said, this should work with different types of files, not just your PDF.
Choose a New Path
Next, choose the destination path. You should include the option to check whether or not an existing file is already there.
Include an option for whether or not to overwrite the file. Be careful with sensitive files! The last thing you want is for the program to go and overwrite a bunch of important stuff.
Test Your Code
Now, run the code on some unneeded text files just to make sure it works. Use different directory paths and tweak the parameters as necessary. If everything is looking good, then it’s time to ship the code and trust it with more sensitive files.
Learn More C#
Creating a C# copy file code is easy and can be done in a matter of minutes. Even though it’s not as straightforward as using a terminal to move or copy files, it does allow you to script the process for the future. Just make sure you test your logic with unimportant files before using it for real.
Follow our blog for more great articles.
