Tutorial 4: filesystem basics (std::fs)

This tutorial demonstrates a very common “systems script” pattern:

1. create a directory
2. write a file
3. read it back
4. clean up

Reference: std::fs (sidebar → standard library).

Program: write and read back a small file#

Create fs_roundtrip.slk:

import fs from "std/fs";
import { println } from "std/io";

fn main () -> int {
  // 493 == 0o755 on POSIX.
  if fs::mkdir_all("tmp", 493) != None {
    println("mkdir failed");
    return 1;
  }

  let path: string = "tmp/tutorial_fs_roundtrip.txt";
  fs::unlink(path); // ignore errors; we just want the file gone

  // 420 == 0o644 on POSIX.
  match (fs::write_file_string(path, "hello\\n", 420)) {
    Ok(_) => {},
    Err(_) => {
      println("write failed");
      fs::unlink(path);
      return 2;
    },
  }

  match (fs::read_file_string(path)) {
    Ok(s) => {
      println("read: {s}", s.as_string());
      fs::unlink(path);
      return 0;
    },
    Err(_) => {
      println("read failed");
      fs::unlink(path);
      return 3;
    },
  }
}

Build and run:

silk check fs_roundtrip.slk
silk build fs_roundtrip.slk -o build/fs_roundtrip
./build/fs_roundtrip

What to take away#

• std::fs uses explicit return shapes (Result(...) or optional errors) so failure handling stays visible.
• Whole-file helpers (read_file_string, write_file_string) are the easiest way to get real work done early.
• For deeper control (streaming I/O, seeking, file handles), std::fs::File exposes a lower-level handle API.

Next#

• Tutorial 5: Concurrency basics