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Python’s built-in pathlib module makes working with filesystem paths tremendous easy. In How To Navigate the Filesystem with Python’s Pathlib, we seemed on the fundamentals of working with path objects and navigating the filesystem. It’s time to go additional.
On this tutorial, we’ll go over three particular file administration duties utilizing the capabilities of the pathlib module:
- Organizing information by extension
- Looking for particular information
- Backing up vital information
By the tip of this tutorial, you may have realized the right way to use pathlib for file administration duties. Let’s get began!
1. Set up Information by Extension
If you’re researching for and dealing on a challenge, you’ll typically create advert hoc information and obtain associated paperwork into your working listing till it is a litter, and that you must arrange it.
Let’s take a easy instance the place the challenge listing incorporates necessities.txt, config information and Python scripts. We’d wish to kind the information into subdirectories—one for every extension. For comfort, let’s select the extensions because the identify of the subdirectories.
Set up Information by Extension | Picture by Writer
Right here’s a Python script that scans a listing, identifies information by their extensions, and strikes them into respective subdirectories:
# arrange.py
from pathlib import Path
def organize_files_by_extension(path_to_dir):
path = Path(path_to_dir).expanduser().resolve()
print(f"Resolved path: {path}")
if path.exists() and path.is_dir():
print(f"The directory {path} exists. Proceeding with file organization...")
for merchandise in path.iterdir():
print(f"Found item: {item}")
if merchandise.is_file():
extension = merchandise.suffix.decrease()
target_dir = path / extension[1:] # Take away the main dot
# Make sure the goal listing exists
target_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
new_path = target_dir / merchandise.identify
# Transfer the file
merchandise.rename(new_path)
# Examine if the file has been moved
if new_path.exists():
print(f"Successfully moved {item} to {new_path}")
else:
print(f"Failed to move {item} to {new_path}")
else:
print(f"Error: {path} does not exist or is not a directory.")
organize_files_by_extension('new_project')
The organize_files_by_extension() perform takes a listing path as enter, resolves it to an absolute path, and organizes the information inside that listing by their file extensions. It first ensures that the desired path exists and is a listing.
Then, it iterates over all objects within the listing. For every file, it retrieves the file extension, creates a brand new listing named after the extension (if it would not exist already), and strikes the file into this new listing.
After shifting every file, it confirms the success of the operation by checking the existence of the file within the new location. If the desired path doesn’t exist or shouldn’t be a listing, it prints an error message.
Right here’s the output for the instance perform name (organizing information within the new_project listing):
Now do that on a challenge listing in your working atmosphere. I’ve used if-else to account for errors. However you’ll be able to as nicely use try-except blocks to make this model higher.
2. Seek for Particular Information
Generally it’s possible you’ll not need to arrange the information by their extension into completely different subdirectories as with the earlier instance. However it’s possible you’ll solely need to discover all information with a particular extension (like all picture information), and for this you need to use globbing.
Say we need to discover the necessities.txt file to have a look at the challenge’s dependencies. Let’s use the identical instance however after grouping the information into subdirectories by the extension.
For those who use the glob() methodology on the trail object as proven to search out all textual content information (outlined by the sample ‘*.txt’), you’ll see that it would not discover the textual content file:
# search.py
from pathlib import Path
def search_and_process_text_files(listing):
path = Path(listing)
path = path.resolve()
for text_file in path.glob('*.txt'):
# course of textual content information as wanted
print(f'Processing {text_file}...')
print(text_file.read_text())
search_and_process_text_files('new_project')
It is because glob() solely searches the present listing, which doesn’t include the necessities.txt file.The necessities.txt file is within the txt subdirectory. So you must use recursive globbing with the rglob() methodology as a substitute.
So right here’s the code to search out the textual content information and print out their contents:
from pathlib import Path
def search_and_process_text_files(listing):
path = Path(listing)
path = path.resolve()
for text_file in path.rglob('*.txt'):
# course of textual content information as wanted
print(f'Processing {text_file}...')
print(text_file.read_text())
search_and_process_text_files('new_project')
The search_and_process_text_files perform takes a listing path as enter, resolves it to an absolute path, and searches for all .txt information inside that listing and its subdirectories utilizing the rglob() methodology.
For every textual content file discovered, it prints the file’s path after which reads and prints out the file’s contents. This perform is beneficial for recursively finding and processing all textual content information inside a specified listing.
As a result of necessities.txt is the one textual content file in our instance, we get the next output:
Output >>>
Processing /dwelling/balapriya/new_project/txt/necessities.txt...
psycopg2==2.9.0
scikit-learn==1.5.0
Now that you know the way to make use of globbing and recursive globbing, attempt to redo the primary job—organizing information by extension—utilizing globbing to search out and group the information after which transfer them to the goal subdirectory.
3. Again Up Necessary Information
Organizing information by the extension and trying to find particular information are the examples we’ve seen up to now. However how about backing up sure vital information, as a result of why not?
Right here we’d like to repeat information from the challenge listing right into a backup listing reasonably than transfer the file to a different location. Along with pathlib, we’ll additionally use the shutil module’s copy perform.
Let’s create a perform that copies all information with a particular extension (all .py information) to a backup listing:
#back_up.py
import shutil
from pathlib import Path
def back_up_files(listing, backup_directory):
path = Path(listing)
backup_path = Path(backup_directory)
backup_path.mkdir(mother and father=True, exist_ok=True)
for important_file in path.rglob('*.py'):
shutil.copy(important_file, backup_path / important_file.identify)
print(f'Backed up {important_file} to {backup_path}')
back_up_files('new_project', 'backup')
The back_up_files() takes in an current listing path and a backup listing path perform and backs up all Python information from a specified listing and its subdirectories into a chosen backup listing.
It creates path objects for each the supply listing and the backup listing, and ensures that the backup listing exists by creating it and any obligatory mother or father directories if they don’t exist already.
The perform then iterates by means of all .py information within the supply listing utilizing the rglob() methodology. For every Python file discovered, it copies the file to the backup listing whereas retaining the unique filename. Primarily, this perform helps in making a backup of all Python information inside a challenge listing
After operating the script and verifying the output, you’ll be able to all the time test the contents of the backup listing:
In your instance listing, you need to use back_up_files('/path/to/listing', '/path/to/backup/listing') to again up information of curiosity.
Wrapping Up
On this tutorial, we have explored sensible examples of utilizing Python’s pathlib module to prepare information by extension, seek for particular information, and backup vital information. Yow will discover all of the code used on this tutorial on GitHub.
As you’ll be able to see, the pathlib module makes working with file paths and file administration duties simpler and extra environment friendly. Now, go forward and apply these ideas in your individual tasks to deal with your file administration duties higher. Completely satisfied coding!
Bala Priya C is a developer and technical author from India. She likes working on the intersection of math, programming, information science, and content material creation. Her areas of curiosity and experience embody DevOps, information science, and pure language processing. She enjoys studying, writing, coding, and occasional! Presently, she’s engaged on studying and sharing her information with the developer group by authoring tutorials, how-to guides, opinion items, and extra. Bala additionally creates participating useful resource overviews and coding tutorials.
