The Python os.path.basename method is used to extract the base name of a pathname. This is useful when you want to process only the filename or directory name from a full pathname.
Understanding os.path.basename method
This method internally use os.path.split() method to split the specified path into a pair (head, tail). os.path.basename() method returns the tail part after splitting the specified path into (head, tail) pair.
os.path.basename Syntax
Syntax: os.path.basename(path)
Parameter:
- path: A path-like object representing a file system path.
- Return Type: This method returns a string value which represents the base name the specified path.
3 Examples of os.path.basename method in Python
Here are three more examples of the os.path.basename method in action:
>>> os.path.basename(‘C/foo/bar/baz.txt’)
‘baz.txt’
>>> os.path.basename(‘/etc/passwd’)
‘passwd’
>>> os.path.basename(‘/etc/telegraf/telegraf.conf’)
‘telegraf.conf’
Python os.path.dirname vs Python os.path.basename
os.path.dirname is the inverse of os.path.basename – it returns the directory name portion of a pathname. For example,
>> os.path.dirname(‘/etc/telegraf/telegraf.conf’)
‘/etc/telegraf’
Are there any other methods related to os.path.basename that I should know about?
There are several other useful methods related to pathnames that you should be aware of:
- os.path.split() splits a full pathname into its individual filename and directory name components
- os.path.join() combines multiple pathname components
For example:
>>> os.path.split(‘/etc/telegraf/telegraf.conf’)
(‘/etc/telegraf’, ‘telegraf.conf’)
>>> print(os.path.join(“/etc”, “telegraf”,”telegraf.conf”))
/etc/telegraf/telegraf.conf