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C program to rename a file using the rename() function

Here, we are going to learn how to rename a file using the rename() function using C program?
Submitted by Nidhi, on August 14, 2021

Problem statement

Read the old and new filenames and then rename the given file using rename() function.

Renaming a file using the rename() function

The rename() function is a library function of <stdio.h> header file which is used to change the name of the file or directory without changing its content.

Syntax

int rename (const char *old_name, const char *new_name);

The argument old_name is the current name of the file or directory and the new_name is the new name of the file or directory.

The return type of the rename() function is an integer. If the file or directory is renamed successfully, the function returns 0, nonzero on failure.

C program to rename a file using the rename() function

The source code to rename a file using rename() function is given below. The given program is compiled and executed using GCC compile on UBUNTU 18.04 OS successfully.

// C program to rename a file using
// the rename() function

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    char oldName[16];
    char newName[16];
    int ret = 0;

    printf("Enter old filename: ");
    scanf("%s", oldName);

    printf("Enter new filename: ");
    scanf("%s", newName);

    ret = rename(oldName, newName);

    if (ret == 0)
        printf("File renamed successfully\n");
    else
        printf("Unable to rename file\n");

    return 0;
}

Output

Enter old filename: file.txt
Enter new filename: newfile.txt
File renamed successfully

Explanation

Here, we created two character arrays oldName, newName. Then we read the old and new names of files from the user. Then we renamed the given file using rename() function and printed the appropriate message on the console screen.

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