CODEWITHSUNDEEP
pythonpython-2.7path
Jagannath Ks
Jagannath Ks

Reputation: 487

Comparing two paths in python

Consider:

path1 = "c:/fold1/fold2"
list_of_paths = ["c:\\fold1\\fold2","c:\\temp\\temp123"]

if path1 in list_of_paths:
    print "found"

I would like the if statement to return True, but it evaluates to False, since it is a string comparison.

How to compare two paths irrespective of the forward or backward slashes they have? I'd prefer not to use the replace function to convert both strings to a common format.

Upvotes: 47

Views: 50135

Answers (7)

chaosink
chaosink

Reputation: 1483

Simply use os.path.samefile(path1, path2). https://docs.python.org/3/library/os.path.html#os.path.samefile

Upvotes: 2

pkowalczyk
pkowalczyk

Reputation: 18453

If you are using , you can use to achieve your goal:

import pathlib
path1 = pathlib.Path("c:/fold1/fold2")
list_of_paths = [pathlib.Path(path) for path in ["c:\\fold1\\fold2","c:\\temp\\temp123"]]
assert path1 in list_of_paths

Upvotes: 9

falsetru
falsetru

Reputation: 368944

Use os.path.normpath to convert c:/fold1/fold2 to c:\fold1\fold2:

>>> path1 = "c:/fold1/fold2"
>>> list_of_paths = ["c:\\fold1\\fold2","c:\\temp\\temp123"]
>>> os.path.normpath(path1)
'c:\\fold1\\fold2'
>>> os.path.normpath(path1) in list_of_paths
True
>>> os.path.normpath(path1) in (os.path.normpath(p) for p in list_of_paths)
True
  • os.path.normpath(path1) in map(os.path.normpath, list_of_paths) also works, but it will build a list with entire path items even though there's match in the middle. (In Python 2.x)

On Windows, you must use os.path.normcase to compare paths because on Windows, paths are not case-sensitive.

Upvotes: 49

Jonathon Reinhart
Jonathon Reinhart

Reputation: 137398

All of these answers mention os.path.normpath, but none of them mention os.path.realpath:

os.path.realpath(path)

Return the canonical path of the specified filename, eliminating any symbolic links encountered in the path (if they are supported by the operating system).

New in version 2.2.

So then:

if os.path.realpath(path1) in (os.path.realpath(p) for p in list_of_paths):
    # ...

Upvotes: 25

user2357112
user2357112

Reputation: 280251

The os.path module contains several functions to normalize file paths so that equivalent paths normalize to the same string. You may want normpath, normcase, abspath, samefile, or some other tool.

Upvotes: 22

user4815162342
user4815162342

Reputation: 154866

Use os.path.normpath to canonicalize the paths before comparing them. For example:

if any(os.path.normpath(path1) == os.path.normpath(p)
       for p in list_of_paths):
    print "found"

Upvotes: 2

Aswin Murugesh
Aswin Murugesh

Reputation: 11070

Store the list_of_paths as a list instead of a string:

list_of_paths = [["c:","fold1","fold2"],["c","temp","temp123"]]

Then split given path by '/' or '\' (whichever is present) and then use the in keyword.

Upvotes: 2

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