Check if file directory exists, else create it

I have a code that loops through hundreds of parameter permutations. During each loop data and figures are outputted and stored. The outputs are stored in folder system with many name variations and subfolders that depend on the particular loop being run. Additionally, the number of stored outputs is not consistent.

During each loop I need to check that the specific directory exists. If it exists I need to clear the existing data. If it does not exist I need to create the directory.

I am able to check if the directory exists and clear its contents with no problems. However, I am not sure how to correctly create the directory if it does not exist. I want to use the 'mkdir' command with a concatenated string that defines the directory. If the file directory to create is called 'FullDirectory' at the moment 'mkdir' just makes a folder called 'FullDirectory' in the current directory. How do I correct this?

See the sample code below

Note: It is possible that some portion of the full directory already exists. For example, 'SubFolder' and 'SubSubFolder' could exist and only 'SubSubSubFolder' needs to be created. Alternatively, it is possible that none of the folders are pre-existing.

% Create example 'building blocks' for directory
BaseDirectory = cd;
SubDirectory = 'SubFolder';
SubSubDirectory = 'SubSubFolder';
SubSubSubDirectory = 'SubSubSubFolder';

% Assemble full directory
FullDirectory = strcat(BaseDirectory,'/',SubDirectory,'/',SubSubDirectory,'/',SubSubSubDirectory);

% Check if directory exists
if isfolder(FullDirectory) == true
    % Erase contents of directory
    FileTypesToErase = {'.fig','.png','.jpg','.mat'};
    EraseFileContents(FullDirectory, FileTypesToErase);
else
    % Create directory
    mkdir FullDirectory % This part needs modification
end

function EraseFileContents(FullDirectory, FileTypesToErase)
%ERASEFILECONTENTS Erases files of specified types in directory
for i = 1:length(FileTypesToErase)
    ThisFileType = FileTypesToErase{i};
    ThisFileTypePattern = strcat('*',ThisFileType);
    FullFilePattern = fullfile(FullDirectory, ThisFileTypePattern); 
    TheFiles = dir(FullFilePattern);
    for j = 1:length(TheFiles)
      BaseFileName = TheFiles(j).name;
      FullFileName = fullfile(FullDirectory, BaseFileName);
      delete(FullFileName);
    end
end
end

Answer 1

[Bruno Luong]

mkdir(FullDirectory)

rather than

mkdir FullDirectory