6
$\begingroup$

I know a workaround, where one calculates sizes of all files and then you subtract this from your default space, but is there any direct way to do it? Simplicity and speed are important.

There's the way to calculate free RAM with external call

ReadList["!typeperf \"\\Memory\\Available Bytes\" -sc 1", Word,
RecordLists -> True, WordSeparators -> {","}] // 
ToExpression@Part[#, 2, 2] &

Is there any way to do the same but for disk space?

SOLVED

StringJoin[
ReadList["!dir c:\ ", Word, RecordLists -> True, 
WordSeparators -> {" ", ","}][[-1, 3 ;; -3]]] // ToExpression

gives the amount of free memory on disk C in bytes)

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
6
  • $\begingroup$ Yes... you can use the same approach, noting that dir gives this information in its output. $\endgroup$
    – Oleksandr R.
    Commented Dec 22, 2012 at 1:26
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ There's no built-in way in Mathematica for this so you will need to call an external command or system API function. .NETLink might be useful if you're on Windows (check e.g. this). I'm not on Windows now so I can't test a solution. $\endgroup$
    – Szabolcs
    Commented Dec 22, 2012 at 1:31
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ something along the lines of Select[ ReadList["!df", Word, RecordLists -> True, WordSeparators -> {",", " "}], First@# == "/dev/disk1" & ] should do the trick (on OSX and I guess linux) $\endgroup$
    – acl
    Commented Dec 22, 2012 at 1:40
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ The Windows performance counter that gives this information is \LogicalDisk(*)\Free Megabytes, so you can use typeperf to get the information if you like. However, this only works if your user account has the "profile system performance" privilege assigned. By default this is only granted to Administrators! $\endgroup$
    – Oleksandr R.
    Commented Dec 22, 2012 at 1:44
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @acl For your df call, I'd display all disks: TableForm[Transpose[{##2}], TableHeadings -> {#, Automatic}] & @@ ReadList["!df -l -k", Word, RecordLists -> True, WordSeparators -> {",", " "}] $\endgroup$
    – Jens
    Commented Dec 22, 2012 at 5:45

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
7
$\begingroup$

We can use JLink for this:

Needs["JLink`"]
InstallJava[];

JavaBlock[JavaNew["java.io.File", "C:\\"]@getFreeSpace[]]
(* 159352233984 *)

We can also find all file system roots and report the total, free and usable disk space:

LoadJavaClass["java.io.File"];

JavaBlock[
  {#@getPath[], #@getTotalSpace[], #@getFreeSpace[], #@getUsableSpace[]}& /@
    java`io`File`listRoots[]
] // TableForm[#, TableHeadings->{None, {"Root","Total", "Free", "Usable"}}]&

table showing disk space

The zeroes here are dismounted drives on my system. The usable space is a concept that varies between operating systems and may take account of disk quotas, permissions, etc.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
$\begingroup$

The package JVMTools (www.jvmtools.net) has the functions FreeDiskSpace[] and TotalDiskSpace[] in its utility functions section, among many other functions. www.jvmtools.net/utility.html

Works on all systems.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
$\begingroup$

Here is a version that passes Directory[] to df so you know how much space there is in Mathematica's current working directory.

I have tried it on Linux but I see no reason it shouldn't work on OSX and other unixy systems that have df.

Options[freeSpace] = {"Path" :> Directory[], "Property" -> 4};
freeSpace[OptionsPattern[]] := 
 Module[{out = 
    ReadList["!df '" <> ToString[OptionValue["Path"]] <> "'"
     ,Word 
     ,RecordLists -> True]
    ,i ,val},
  val = out[[-1, OptionValue["Property"]]];
  Quiet[Check[
    FromDigits[val],
    val, FromDigits::nlst
    ], FromDigits::nlst]
  ]

You can do similarly with @WReach's solution, which would be better since it will work on all systems.

JavaBlock[JavaNew["java.io.File", Directory[]]@getFreeSpace[]]

You can also check how much free space is on another disk, say you store your stuff elsewhere:

freeSpace[]                 (* 8898584 *)
freeSpace["Path"-> "/tmp"]  (* 20958736 *)

You can also extract other information that df gives:

freeSpace["Path" -> "/tmp", "Property" -> 1] (* "/dev/sda5" *)

The different properties are:

    1            2     3     4    5     6
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
Improve this answer
$\endgroup$

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.