how to delete mat file

i have saved a variable by using

save('fp_database.mat','data');

i want to delete this file so i tried

delete('fp_database.mat')

now even i load it by load('fpnn_database.mat');its values are displayed and not deleted

please tell how to delete it

[TAB]

You are deleting fp_database.mat and loading fpnn_database.mat. They are 2 different files. Offcourse data will be loaded from fpnn_database.mat if it exist.

[Pat]

sorry its load('fp_database.mat');

[José-Luis]

Do you have read/write access to the folder where the file is located?

[Pat]

yes i have

Answer 1

[Jan]

Using Matlab's posibility to search a file in the complete list of folders in the path leads to such strange effects. It is recommended to use absolute file names instead:

File = fullfile(cd, 'fp_database.mat');
save(File,'data');
...
delete(File);
disp(exist(File, 'file'))

The current directory can be modified by GUI or TIMER callbacks, such that absolute file names are more secure in general also.

[Image Analyst]

I second Jan's suggestion. Using full filenames where you specify exactly what both the folder and the base filename is preferable. Robust code will make liberal use of fullfile() and exist(), and not use cd as per the FAQ. (Using cd like Jan did is fine, since it doesn't actually change the directory, but I use "pwd" in cases like that.) That way you always know exactly what folder you're looking in and what file you're dealing with and there are no uncertainties about what the current directory may be or what the search path may be.

[Jan]

All that's done inside pwd is calling cd without arguments.

Answer 2

[Azzi Abdelmalek]

Try this

a=1:10;
save('fp_database','a')
delete('fp_database.mat')
clear
load('fp_database')
a

Answer 3

[Malcolm Lidierth]

Looks like you have several copies in different folders on the MATLAB path. Delete only deletes the first. Try

which ('fp_database.mat')

after delete to find the 2nd.