Path module in Nodejs

 

Key Methods

Here are some of the commonly used methods in the path module:

1. path.join([...paths]):

   • Joins all given path segments together, normalizing the resulting path.
   • Example:

     const path = require('path');
     const filePath = path.join('/home', 'user', 'docs', 'file.txt');
     console.log(filePath); // Outputs: /home/user/docs/file.txt
     

2. path.resolve([...paths]):

   • Resolves a sequence of paths or path segments into an absolute path.
   • Example:

     const path = require('path');
     const absolutePath = path.resolve('docs', 'file.txt');
     console.log(absolutePath); // Outputs the absolute path to 'file.txt'
     

3. path.basename(p, [ext]):

   • Returns the last portion of a path, optionally removing a file extension.
   • Example:

     const path = require('path');
     const baseName = path.basename('/home/user/docs/file.txt');
     console.log(baseName); // Outputs: file.txt
     
     const baseNameWithoutExt = path.basename('/home/user/docs/file.txt', '.txt');
     console.log(baseNameWithoutExt); // Outputs: file
     

4. path.dirname(p):

   • Returns the directory name of a path.
   • Example:

     const path = require('path');
     const dirName = path.dirname('/home/user/docs/file.txt');
     console.log(dirName); // Outputs: /home/user/docs
     

5. path.extname(p):

   • Returns the extension of the path, including the leading dot (.).
   • Example:

     const path = require('path');
     const extName = path.extname('/home/user/docs/file.txt');
     console.log(extName); // Outputs: .txt
     

6. path.parse(p):

   • Parses a path into an object with root, dir, base, ext, and name properties.
   • Example:

     const path = require('path');
     const parsed = path.parse('/home/user/docs/file.txt');
     console.log(parsed);
     /*
     Outputs:
     {
       root: '/',
       dir: '/home/user/docs',
       base: 'file.txt',
       ext: '.txt',
       name: 'file'
     }
     */
     

7. path.format(p):

   • Formats a path object into a string path.
   • Example:

     const path = require('path');
     const formatted = path.format({
       root: '/',
       dir: '/home/user/docs',
       base: 'file.txt',
       ext: '.txt',
       name: 'file'
     });
     console.log(formatted); // Outputs: /home/user/docs/file.txt
     

8. path.normalize(p):

   • Normalizes a path, resolving .. and . segments.
   • Example:

     const path = require('path');
     const normalized = path.normalize('/home/user/docs/../file.txt');
     console.log(normalized); // Outputs: /home/user/file.txt
     

9. path.relative(from, to):

   • Returns the relative path from from to to.
   • Example:

     const path = require('path');
     const relative = path.relative('/home/user', '/home/user/docs/file.txt');
     console.log(relative); // Outputs: docs/file.txt
     

10. path.win32 and path.posix:

    • Provide platform-specific implementations of path operations. Use path.win32 for Windows paths and path.posix for POSIX paths.
    • Example:

      const path = require('path');
      const posixPath = path.posix.join('/home', 'user', 'docs', 'file.txt');
      console.log(posixPath); // Outputs: /home/user/docs/file.txt
      
      const win32Path = path.win32.join('C:\\', 'Users', 'Docs', 'file.txt');
      console.log(win32Path); // Outputs: C:\Users\Docs\file.txt
      

Usage Examples

Constructing Paths

const path = require('path');

// Joining paths
const fullPath = path.join('folder', 'subfolder', 'file.txt');
console.log(fullPath); // Outputs the joined path

// Resolving paths
const absolutePath = path.resolve('folder', 'file.txt');
console.log(absolutePath); // Outputs the absolute path

Parsing and Formatting Paths

const path = require('path');

// Parsing a path
const parsedPath = path.parse('/home/user/file.txt');
console.log(parsedPath); // Outputs: { root: '/', dir: '/home/user', base: 'file.txt', ext: '.txt', name: 'file' }

// Formatting a path object
const formattedPath = path.format(parsedPath);
console.log(formattedPath); // Outputs: /home/user/file.txt

Thank you.