The difference between File.Move() and FileInfo.MoveTo() for renaming files.
I was asked to write about when and why to use File.Move() vs FileInfo.MoveTo() for renaming files. This is what I came up with, but was told that the part in bold is incorrect. I would like to know if anyone can point me to any resource that would help me come up with the correct answer.
One vital thing to consider when choosing between the two methods is whether or not we are moving the file to a different drive. When moving a file to a new location on the same drive, the operating system only needs to update the file's location pointer. However, when moving a file to a different drive, the operating system requires a copy-and-delete operation to ensure compatibility with the new file system. This is a complex operation, that is prone to errors.
The File.Move() method is designed to handle the copy and delete operation robustly and reliably. This is accomplished by employing various techniques, including retrying the operation if it fails and handling errors gracefully.
On the other hand, the FileInfo.MoveTo() method is designed to efficiently handle the simple operation of updating the file's location pointer. It does this by avoiding unnecessary operations, such as copying the file to a temporary location.
In general, we should use the File.Move() when moving a file to a different drive or volume, and FileInfo.MoveTo() when moving a file to a new location on the same drive.
10 Replies
Both operations do exactly the same thing. Where did you come up with this stuff about copying to a temporary location, etc?
I saw it in a Stackoverflow comment, and when I asked both Chatgpt and Bard, they confirmed it was correct. I can't seem to find any resource online that specifically covers the difference between both methods, so it's hard to really figure it out.
Stack Overflow.
ChatGPT.
Bard.
This is like the trifecta of misinformation on the internet.
Both FileInfo.MoveTo and File.Move call the exact same function and do the exact same thing.
You can see for yourself:
https://source.dot.net/#System.Private.CoreLib/src/libraries/System.Private.CoreLib/src/System/IO/FileInfo.cs,c524868af67eb0f2
https://source.dot.net/#System.Private.CoreLib/src/libraries/System.Private.CoreLib/src/System/IO/File.cs,9635b474663856ac
ask 2 text generators trained on stack overflow if something said on stack overflow was correct
Stack Overflow is a wasteland of bad information.
I totally agree that all three tools/platforms can provide bad information sometimes. I however would like some help with knowing how to answer the question of "when and why should I use File.Move() over FileInfo.MoveTo() for renaming a file".
If one has some advantages over the other, then I would like to know. Any resource that talks about this would be greatly appreciated.
like mtreit said, look at the source
they do the exact same thing
besides some argument validation differences they ultimately call FileSystem.MoveFile
I guess the best answer would be: if you have a
FileInfo, use FileInfo.MoveTo and File,Move otherwiseIt just depends on if you are starting from a FileInfo or not. The fact that File has static methods that do exactly the same thing as FileInfo instance methods has always felt like a kind of silly API design decision.
If you don't need a FileInfo, then using File saves some memory allocations.
Since you don't allocate a FileInfo object.
So I would probably use File by default
Thank you guys very much. I really thought I wasn't looking in the right place for answers.