Define path using string value with pathlib

Question

I am trying to design a function that iterates over a script. The arguments of this function are first_name and second_name. Among other things, this loop should create folders and subfolders as follows:

def script(first_name='', second_name=''):
  (...)
  first_name='first_name'
  second_name='second_name'
  project_path = pathlib.Path.home()/'Desktop/Project_folder'
  name_path = pathlib.Path.home()/'Desktop/Project_folder/'+first_name+second_name
  subfolder = pathlib.Path.home()/'Desktop/Project_folder/'+first_name+second_name+'/subfolder' 
  (...)

However, when I try to run the script, I get the following error when creating the folders:

script(first_name, second_name)
(...)  
>>> TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for +: 'WindowsPath' and 'str'

Since I am not very experienced with the pathlib module, I was wondering whether there was a way to fix this and create folders using string values inside pathlib without specifying the full path in advance.

ForceBru · Accepted Answer · 2021-10-14 22:58:38Z

2

Paths are specified using forward slashes:

pathlib.Path.home()/'Desktop/Project_folder' / first_name / second_name / 'subfolder'

Example:

>>> import pathlib
>>> first_name, second_name = "Force", "Bru"
>>> pathlib.Path.home()/'Desktop/Project_folder' / first_name / second_name / 'subfolder'
PosixPath('/.../Desktop/Project_folder/Force/Bru/subfolder')
>>>

answered Oct 14, 2021 at 22:58

ForceBru

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6 Comments

Boris Donnelly Over a year ago

What if I need the folder name to contain both first_name and second_name, i.e. in your example PosixPath('/.../Desktop/Project_folder/Force_Bru/subfolder')

ForceBru Over a year ago

@BorisDonnelly, use parentheses: pathlib.Path.home() / "whatever" / ("Force" + "_" + "Bru") or f-strings: the_path / f"myfolder_{name}_{surname}" / "other_folder"

alper Over a year ago

Should there be space before and after each slashes (/)? If yes why there is not any after home()

ForceBru Over a year ago

@alper, the slashes are actually division operators. Do you need spaces in 1/2? Python doesn't care - it's just a matter of legibility and code style. Spaces in strings matter very much, though: "hello/" != "hello /".

alper Over a year ago

I was considering for : pathlib.Path.home() / "Desktop" / "Project_folder" vs pathlib.Path.home()/"Desktop"/"Project_folder"

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