Python - Directory Methods

Python From Beginner to Advanced

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In Python, managing directories and handling file descriptors efficiently are essential for file system operations, system configuration tasks, and process management. The os module in Python provides a comprehensive suite of methods to facilitate these operations. Below is a detailed overview of these methods, structured in a way to highlight their purpose and utility.

Directory Methods

Method	Description
`access(path, mode)`	Checks access permissions for the specified path using real user and group IDs.
`chdir(path)`	Changes the current working directory to the specified path.
`chflags(path, flags)`	Sets the file status flags for a given path.
`chmod(path, mode)`	Changes the permission mode of a specified file or directory.
`chown(path, uid, gid)`	Changes the owner and group ID of a specified file or directory.
`chroot(path)`	Changes the root directory of the current process to the specified path.
`close(fd)`	Closes a file descriptor.
`closerange(fd_low, fd_high)`	Closes all file descriptors from `fd_low` to `fd_high`, ignoring errors.
`dup(fd)`	Duplicates a file descriptor.
`dup2(fd, fd2)`	Duplicates one file descriptor, making it copy to another specified descriptor.
`fchdir(fd)`	Changes the current working directory to that represented by the given file descriptor.
`fchmod(fd, mode)`	Changes the mode of a file specified by the file descriptor.
`fchown(fd, uid, gid)`	Changes the owner and group associated with the file descriptor.
`fdatasync(fd)`	Forces a flush of all data written to a file via a file descriptor.
`fdopen(fd[, mode[, bufsize]])`	Opens a file descriptor and returns a corresponding file object.
`fpathconf(fd, name)`	Returns system configuration values for files and directories.
`fstat(fd)`	Provides statistics for a file descriptor, similar to `stat()`.
`fstatvfs(fd)`	Returns information about the file system containing the file associated with the file descriptor.
`fsync(fd)`	Forces a write of everything in the file descriptor's buffer to disk.
`ftruncate(fd, length)`	Truncates a file to a specified length using its file descriptor.
`getcwd()`	Returns a string representing the current working directory.
`getcwdu()`	Returns a Unicode object representing the current working directory.
`isatty(fd)`	Checks if the file descriptor is attached to a TTY device.
`listdir(path)`	Lists the entries in the directory specified by path.
`lseek(fd, pos, how)`	Moves the file descriptor position to a specific location.
`lstat(path)`	Like `stat()`, but does not follow symbolic links.
`mkdir(path[, mode])`	Creates a directory named by path with specified numeric mode.
`makedirs(path[, mode])`	Recursive directory creation function.
`open(file, flags[, mode])`	Opens a file and returns a corresponding file descriptor.
`pipe()`	Creates a pair of file descriptors (r, w), usable for reading and writing respectively.
`read(fd, n)`	Reads at most n bytes from file descriptor fd.
`remove(path)`	Removes the specified file path.
`rmdir(path)`	Removes the specified directory.
`stat(path)`	Performs a `stat` system call on the specified path.
`symlink(src, dst)`	Creates a symbolic link pointing to src named dst.
`unlink(path)`	Removes the specified file path, synonymous with `remove()`.
`utime(path, times)`	Sets access and modified times of the file specified by path.
`write(fd, str)`	Writes the string `str` to file descriptor `fd`.

Example: Using listdir()

To illustrate the use of directory methods, let's look at a practical example of the listdir() method, which lists all files and directories in a given path.

Python3

. . . .

Explanation:

import os: This imports the module required to interact with the operating system.
directory_path: Specifies the path of the directory whose contents are to

be listed.

os.listdir(directory_path): This method retrieves all the entries (files and directories) in the specified directory_path.
print(): Outputs the contents of the directory to the console.

This example demonstrates how to use the listdir() function to view the contents of a directory, which is essential for tasks involving file management and automation.

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