To manipulate and normalize file paths while preserving symbolic links using the path package in Python, you can follow these steps:
Install the path package if you haven't already. You can use the following command to install it via pip:
pip install path
Import the path module in your Python script:
from path import Path
Create Path objects for your file paths:
path1 = Path("path/to/file") # Example file path 1
path2 = Path("/absolute/path/to/file") # Example file path 2
Apply desired manipulation and normalization functions on the Path objects:
To join paths:
new_path = path1 / "a_new_directory" / "new_file.txt"
To resolve symbolic links and return an absolute path:
resolved_path = path1.realpath()
To normalize the path by removing redundant slashes, dots, and symbolic link indicators:
normalized_path = path1.normpath()
To get the parent directory of a path:
parent_path = path1.parent
To find the common base path between two paths:
common_base = path1.commonpath(path2)
To get the file name from a path:
file_name = path1.name
Perform any desired operations on the modified path objects, such as reading or writing to files.
By using these functions provided by the path package, you can easily manipulate and normalize file paths while preserving symbolic links in your Python program.