[Boost-users] FileSystem - Test if file exists without opening the file?

From: Jeff (jeff_j_dunlap_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-04-26 06:23:30

Hello,

I can see from a FileSystem example how to check for the existence of a 
directory.  What I would like to be able to do is to check for the existence of 
a file but I couldn't figure out how to do it using exists().

The way that I currently check for a file's existence is by opening the file.  
I wonder if boost::filesystem can test for a file's existence more efficiently 
than having to open it like I do in the snippet below.  

// checking for file existence by opening the file
ifstream source(fileName);
if (source)
  ...

The reason for my concern is that I am going to be reading a text document 
containing a list of files, and all that I need to know is if the files exist 
on disk or not.  If there is a way to check without opening each one, that 
would be ideal.

Thanks in Advance