performance - C faster way to check if a directory exists

Question

I'm using opendir function to check if a directory exists. The problem is that I'm using it on a massive loop and it's inflating the ram used by my app.

What is the best (fastest) way to check if a directory exists in C? What is the best (fastest) way to create it if doesn't exists?

Answer 1

Consider using stat. S_ISDIR(s.st_mode) will tell you if it's a directory.

Sample:

#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <unistd.h>

...
struct stat s;
int err = stat("/path/to/possible_dir", &s);
if(-1 == err) {
    if(ENOENT == errno) {
        /* does not exist */
    } else {
        perror("stat");
        exit(1);
    }
} else {
    if(S_ISDIR(s.st_mode)) {
        /* it's a dir */
    } else {
        /* exists but is no dir */
    }
}
...