Basic Python: Filenames and paths

Another Python post! I am still learning the language. Since I cannot remember everything, I am posting it here for future reference.

Get the Current Working Directory
To get the “current working directory” do this:

import os
current_dir = os.getcwd()
print current_dir

If you are doing this from the command line, you should see something like:

/home/wenbert

Get the Absolute Path of a File

import os
abs_path = os.path.abspath('myfile.txt')
print abs_path #will show something like: /home/wenbert/myfile.txt

Check if a File or Directory Exists
I am demonstrating this as if you are in the interactive Python shell and not as a file.

>>> import os
>>> os.path.exists('myfile.txt')
True
>>> os.path.exists('non-existent-file.txt')
False

Check “value” if it is a Directory or is a File
isdir()

>>> import os
>>> os.path.isdir('myfile.txt')
False
>>> os.path.isdir('/home/wenbert/mydirectory')
True

isfile()

>>> import os
>>> os.path.isfile('myfile.txt')
True
>>> os.path.isfile('/home/wenbert/mydirectory')
False

List everything inside a directory

>>> import os
>>> os.listdir('/home/wenbert/mydirectory')
['sub_directory','myfile.txt', 'sample.txt']

Comments / Suggestions are welcomed!