Python: Difference between os.remove() and os.unlink() and which one to use?

Question

I have a number of files in a folder. I want to delete each file once it has been processed.

What's the difference between using os.remove() and os.unlink? Which method is ideal for my scenario?

Answer 1

They are identical as described in the official Python 2.7.15 documentation.

os.remove(path):

Remove (delete) the file path. If path is a directory, OSError is raised; see rmdir() below to remove a directory. This is identical to the unlink() function documented below. On Windows, attempting to remove a file that is in use causes an exception to be raised; on Unix, the directory entry is removed but the storage allocated to the file is not made available until the original file is no longer in use.

Availability: Unix, Windows.

os.unlink(path):

Remove (delete) the file path. This is the same function as remove(); the unlink() name is its traditional Unix name.

Availability: Unix, Windows.