mysql and stray files

[etoast]

Hello
I have had a search but cannot find what I need to know so I wonder whether someone could point me in the right direction please?

Say I have a folder containing 20 files and a mysql database with 20 records containing those file names. Now say the database has 5 rows removed so that the 5 associated files in the folder are now strays. How can I query the database to identify and then unlink those stray files?

Many thanks!

[etoast]

This doesn't seem to work, but I am hoping it is close:

<?php
// query database to find file names
$result=mysql_query($query);
while($row=mysql_fetch_array($result)){
$myFile = $row['loc'];
$myFile2 = 'pathtofolder/';
$result = $myFile2 . $myFile;
if( !file_exists($result) ) {
unlink($result);
}
}
?>

I get the error "mysql_fetch_array() expects parameter 1 to be resource, string given"

[etoast]

No, I'm on the wrong track anyway. That query would try to remove files that don't exist! (reaches for the face palm icon) 🙁

[Weedpacket]

Obviously if the rows describing the files have been removed from the database, then the database doesn't know about the files. You can find out what files you do have, and subtract from that list the files the database knows about. Any left over are files that you have but the database doesn't know about, i.e., ones that have been removed.

[bradgrafelman]

An alternative would be to not remove those rows from the database until the files are actually deleted. Instead, you'd want some way to indicate in your DBMS which files are to be deleted. You'd then have some sort of periodic processing query the database, delete the files, and then remove the records/indicators for those files.

Yet another alternative would be to modify whatever application is deleting the rows from the DB to also delete the files at the same time.