The standard utility “os” Python library supports several functions and modules to interact and work with the operating system. It is utilized for various tasks such as accessing/calling file information, removing or renaming files, merging files, and others. While working with the specified path or pathnames, the “os.path” module is used in Python.
This write-up explains a comprehensive tutorial on the “os.path” module via the below-provided content:
- What is the “os.path” Module in Python?
- Getting the Basename and Directory Name of the Specified Path
- Checking Whether the Specified Path is Absolute or Existing Directory or Existing File or Not
- Normalizing the Case and Paths of the Specified Path
What is the “os.path” Module in Python?
In Python, the “os.path” module of the “os” library provides various functions for manipulating file paths. It is a very useful tool for working with files and directories in Python.
We can utilize the “os.path” module to work with specified paths in various operating systems. For example, to check whether the specified path is an existing file, the “os.path.isfile()” is used, and to check whether the path is the directory the “os.path.isdir()” function is used in Python.
Let’s understand this module in depth using the below-given content:
Getting the Basename and Directory Name of the Specified Path
The “os.path” module provides a function “os.path.basename()” and “os.path.dirname()” to get the base name and the directory name of the specified path. For an example, look at the below code:
print('Basename of the Path: ',os.path.basename("C:/Users/Home"))
print('\nDirectory Name of the Path: ',os.path.dirname("C:/Users/Home"))
The code above generates the following output:
Checking Whether the Specified Path is Absolute or Existing Directory or Existing File or Not
The “os.path.isabs()” function is used to check whether the specified path is absolute or not. The “os.path.isdir()” and “os.path.isfile()” functions are used to determine whether the particular path is an existing directory or an existing file. In Unix, absolute paths start with a forward slash. In Windows, they start with a backslash after removing any drive letter.
Take a look at the below code to apply all of these functions on the specified path:
print('Specified Path is Absolute or Not: ',os.path.isabs("C:/Users/Home"))
print('\nSpecifed path is Existing Directory or Not: ', os.path.isdir("C:\\Users"))
print('\nSpecifed path is Existing File or Not: ', os.path.isfile("C:/Users/p/Documents/program/new.xml"))
The code above generates the following output:
Normalizing the Case and Paths of the Specified Path
The “os.path.normcase()” of the “os.path” module takes/accepts the specified path as an argument and normalizes the case. To normalize the path by deleting the extra characters, the “os.path.normpath()” function is used in Python.
Note: Unix and Mac keep path names as specified, while Windows converts them to lowercase and replaces forward slashes with backslashes.
Let’s explore/examine this method by the below example:
print('Normalizing the Case of the Specified Path: ', os.path.normcase("C:/Users/Home"))
print('\nNormalizing the Specified Path: ', os.path.normpath("C:/Users/./Home"))
When the above code is executed, the below output displays on the console screen:
That’s all about the os.path module in Python.
Conclusion
In Python, the “os.path” module of the “os” library provides several functions to work with specified paths in various operating systems. The “os.path” module has several functions that perform various operations such as getting the basename or directory name, checking absolute path, verifying existing directory or existing file, and others. This write-up presented a complete tutorial on the “os.path” module using numerous examples.
