TDirectory

TDirectory is a static class in the Delphi runtime library that provides utility functions for working with directories. It is part of the System.IOUtils unit and is available in recent versions of Delphi and C++Builder. All of its members are class methods, meaning they are called on the class itself rather than on an instance.

The class offers operations such as creating, deleting, and copying directories, retrieving the current working directory, changing the current directory, and enumerating subdirectories and files within a directory. Common methods include GetCurrentDirectory, SetCurrentDirectory, CreateDirectory, DeleteDirectory, GetDirectories, GetFiles, and SearchPath. For example, TDirectory.GetFiles can return an array of file names matching a given search pattern, often used with the SearchOption parameter to control recursive search.

TDirectory simplifies file system operations by wrapping Windows API calls in a Delphi-friendly interface. It also handles path normalization, relative and absolute paths, and supports Unicode filenames when compiling with unicode. Because it is a class of utility methods, it requires no object instantiation and can be used directly from any code that includes the System.IOUtils unit.

The design of TDirectory follows the pattern of many Delphi static utility classes, providing a convenient, high-level API for file system manipulation while maintaining backward compatibility with older Delphi code that used the SysUtils functions. The class is available in the standard Delphi installation and is commonly used in applications that need to perform directory enumeration, cleanup, or batch file processing.