---
name: "gd_delete"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "libgetdata-doc"
version: "0.11.0-15"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/gd_delete"
---

# gd\_delete(3)

remove an entry from a Dirfile

## NAME

gd\_delete — remove an entry from a Dirfile

## SYNOPSIS

**#include \<getdata.h\>**

**int gd\_delete(DIRFILE \****dirfile***, const char \****field\_code***,** **unsigned int** *flags***);**

## DESCRIPTION

The **gd\_delete**() function attempts to delete the field or alias specified by *field\_code* from the dirfile specified by *dirfile*. The *field\_code* should not contain a representation suffix.

The *flags* argument influences how the deletion attempt occurs.  It may be zero, for the default behaviour, or else one or more of the following flags, bitwise or'd together:\
  .TP 8 **GD\_DEL\_DATA** If the field to be deleted is a **RAW** field, also delete the binary data file associated with it.  If *field\_code* specified a **RAW** field and this flag is not specified, the field will still be deleted but the binary file will be left untouched.\
  .TP 8 **GD\_DEL\_DEREF** If the field to be deleted is a **CONST** or **CARRAY** field which is used as a parameter in the specification of other fields, resolve these other fields' dependence on the deleted field by replacing instances of *field\_code* in their field specifications with the value of the scalar field.\
  .TP 8 **GD\_DEL\_FORCE** Delete the indicated entry, even if it is used in the specification of other fields, either as a input for a derived vector field or as a scalar parameter in a field specification, or if it has aliases pointing to it.\
  .TP 8 **GD\_DEL\_META** If the field to be deleted has metafields attached to it, attempt to delete those, too.  If the field has metafields and this flag is not specified, the call will fail with the **GD\_E\_DELETE** error.

## RETURN VALUE

On successful deletion, zero is returned.  On error, a negative-valued error code is returned.  Possible error codes are:\
  .TP 8 **GD\_E\_ACCMODE** The specified dirfile was opened read-only.\
  .TP 8 **GD\_E\_ALLOC** The library was unable to allocate memory.\
  .TP 8 **GD\_E\_BAD\_CODE** The field specified by *field\_code* was not found in the database.\
  .TP 8 **GD\_E\_BAD\_DIRFILE** The supplied dirfile was invalid.\
  .TP 8 **GD\_E\_DELETE** The attempt to delete the field failed.  Either it is used in the specification of other fields and **GD\_DEL\_FORCE** or **GD\_DEL\_DEREF** was not specified, or it has metafields and **GD\_DEL\_META** was not specified.\
  .TP 8 **GD\_E\_INTERNAL\_ERROR** An internal error occurred in the library while trying to perform the task. This indicates a bug in the library.  Please report the incident to the GetData developers.\
  .TP 8 **GD\_E\_IO** An error occurred while trying to close or delete the binary file associated with a **RAW** field.\
  .TP 8 **GD\_E\_PROTECTED** The metadata of the fragment containing the field was protected from change. Or, the deletion of the binary data file associated with a **RAW** field was attempted and the data of the fragment was protected.\
  .TP 8 **GD\_E\_UNKNOWN\_ENCODING** The **GD\_DEL\_DATA** flag was given but the encoding scheme of the indicated format specification fragment is not known to the library.  As a result, the library was unable to delete the binary file associated with a **RAW** field.\
  .TP 8 **GD\_E\_UNSUPPORTED** The **GD\_DEL\_DATA** flag was given but the encoding scheme of the indicated format specification fragment does not support deleting the binary file associated with a **RAW** field.

The error code is also stored in the **DIRFILE** object and may be retrieved after this function returns by calling [**gd\_error**(3)](/gd_error/3.md). A descriptive error string for the error may be obtained by calling [**gd\_error\_string**(3)](/gd_error_string/3.md).

## HISTORY

The function **dirfile\_delete**() appeared in GetData-0.5.0.

In GetData-0.7.0, this function was renamed to **gd\_delete**().

In all GetData-0.8.x releases, passing an alias name to this function would delete the target of the alias.  To delete an alias itself, a separate function, **gd\_delete\_alias**() was available.

In GetData-0.9.0, **gd\_delete\_alias**() was removed.

In GetData-0.10.0, the error return from this function changed from -1 to a negative-valued error code.

## SEE ALSO

[**gd\_close**(3)](/gd_close/3.md), [**gd\_error**(3)](/gd_error/3.md), [**gd\_error\_string**(3)](/gd_error_string/3.md), [**gd\_metaflush**(3)](/gd_metaflush/3.md), [**gd\_open**(3)](/gd_open/3.md)