Pathlib Module: Modern Path Handling Made Simple

from pathlib import Path

# Current directory
current = Path.cwd()
print(current)  # /Users/username/project

# Home directory  
home = Path.home()
print(home)  # /Users/username

# Create paths from strings
project_path = Path("my_project")
config_file = Path("config/settings.json")

# Join paths naturally
full_path = project_path / "src" / "main.py"
print(full_path)  # my_project/src/main.py

path = Path("/Users/alice/documents/report.pdf")

print(path.name)        # report.pdf
print(path.stem)        # report
print(path.suffix)      # .pdf
print(path.parent)      # /Users/alice/documents
print(path.parts)       # ('/', 'Users', 'alice', 'documents', 'report.pdf')
print(path.is_absolute()) # True

# Change components
new_path = path.with_suffix('.txt')
print(new_path)  # /Users/alice/documents/report.txt

path = Path("example.txt")

# Check existence and type
print(path.exists())      # True/False
print(path.is_file())     # True/False
print(path.is_dir())      # True/False
print(path.is_symlink())  # True/False

# Get file info
if path.exists():
    print(f"Size: {path.stat().st_size} bytes")
    print(f"Modified: {path.stat().st_mtime}")

# Write to file
config = Path("config.txt")
config.write_text("debug=true\nport=8080")

# Read from file
content = config.read_text()
print(content)

# Binary operations
data = b"binary data"
binary_file = Path("data.bin")
binary_file.write_bytes(data)
restored_data = binary_file.read_bytes()

# Create directories
new_dir = Path("project/logs")
new_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)  # Create parent dirs if needed

# List directory contents
project = Path("project")
for item in project.iterdir():
    if item.is_file():
        print(f"File: {item.name}")
    elif item.is_dir():
        print(f"Directory: {item.name}")

# Find all Python files
project = Path("src")
python_files = list(project.glob("*.py"))
print(python_files)

# Recursive search
all_python = list(project.rglob("*.py"))  # Search subdirectories too

# Multiple patterns
text_files = list(project.glob("*.{txt,md,rst}"))

# Find files matching pattern
for py_file in project.rglob("test_*.py"):
    print(f"Test file: {py_file}")

# Resolve relative paths and symlinks
messy_path = Path("../project/./src/../config/settings.json")
clean_path = messy_path.resolve()
print(clean_path)  # /Users/alice/project/config/settings.json

# Relative paths
base = Path("/Users/alice/project")
target = Path("/Users/alice/project/src/main.py")
relative = target.relative_to(base)
print(relative)  # src/main.py

# These work the same on Windows, macOS, and Linux
path = Path.home() / "Documents" / "my_file.txt"

# Convert to string for legacy functions
path_string = str(path)

# Convert from string
path_from_string = Path(path_string)

# URL-style paths (useful for web applications)
url_path = path.as_uri()
print(url_path)  # file:///Users/alice/Documents/my_file.txt

class ConfigManager:
    def __init__(self, app_name):
        self.config_dir = Path.home() / f".{app_name}"
        self.config_file = self.config_dir / "config.json"
        
    def ensure_config_dir(self):
        self.config_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
        
    def load_config(self):
        if self.config_file.exists():
            return json.loads(self.config_file.read_text())
        return {}
        
    def save_config(self, config_data):
        self.ensure_config_dir()
        self.config_file.write_text(json.dumps(config_data, indent=2))

def organize_downloads():
    downloads = Path.home() / "Downloads"
    
    # Create organized folders
    for folder in ["images", "documents", "archives"]:
        (downloads / folder).mkdir(exist_ok=True)
    
    # Organize files by extension
    for file_path in downloads.iterdir():
        if file_path.is_file():
            if file_path.suffix.lower() in ['.jpg', '.png', '.gif']:
                file_path.rename(downloads / "images" / file_path.name)
            elif file_path.suffix.lower() in ['.pdf', '.docx', '.txt']:
                file_path.rename(downloads / "documents" / file_path.name)
            elif file_path.suffix.lower() in ['.zip', '.tar', '.gz']:
                file_path.rename(downloads / "archives" / file_path.name)

def backup_project(source_dir, backup_dir):
    source = Path(source_dir)
    backup = Path(backup_dir)
    
    if not source.exists():
        raise ValueError(f"Source directory {source} does not exist")
    
    # Create timestamped backup folder
    timestamp = datetime.now().strftime("%Y%m%d_%H%M%S")
    backup_path = backup / f"backup_{timestamp}"
    backup_path.mkdir(parents=True)
    
    # Copy all files
    for file_path in source.rglob("*"):
        if file_path.is_file():
            relative_path = file_path.relative_to(source)
            dest_path = backup_path / relative_path
            dest_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
            dest_path.write_bytes(file_path.read_bytes())
    
    print(f"Backup created at {backup_path}")