betterpath

betterpath, or "bp", is an adaptation of the classic Twisted FilePath type and interface. bp provides a simple, robust, well-tested object abstraction over file paths, generalizing the concept of file paths beyond filesystems.

File Paths

bp exposes an interface, bp.abstract.IFilePath, for file paths, and provides the following concrete implementations:

• bp.filepath.FilePath, for the root filesystem
• bp.zippath.ZipPath, for ZIP archives
• bp.memory.MemoryPath, for in-memory temporary filesystems

In addition, there are combining abstract file paths which can be wrapped around other file paths:

• bp.readonly.ReadOnlyPath, for read-only filesystems

API documentation is available at http://betterpath.rtfd.org/.

Vs. the Competition

os.path

The venerable champ, os.path has been the cause of (and solution to) most of Python's path problems over the years.

Pros

• In the standard library

Cons

• Unsafe
• Verbose
• Operates on strs
• No interfaces or ABCs for functionality
• Only covers the root filesystem

pathlib

pathlib hopes to carve a path towards greatness through PEP 428.

Pros

• Convenient __div__() overloading

Cons

• No interfaces or ABCs for functionality
• Only covers the root filesystem

Examples

Saving Data to Disk

The Old Way

def save(base, fragments, data):
    # `fragments` could contain unsafe paths!
    if ".." in fragments or "." in fragments:
        raise ValueError("Unsafe paths!")
    path = os.path.join(os.path.abspath(base), os.sep.join(fragments))
    # Alternatively: path = os.path.join(os.path.abspath(base), *fragments)
    # I hope that this doesn't fail mid-write! Also, did the directories
    # exist? I think so, yes.
    with open(path, "wb") as handle:
        handle.write(data)

The New Way

def save(base, fragments, data):
    path = base.descendant(fragments)        
    path.parent().makeDirs()
    path.setContent(data)

Changelog

0.2

• Initial release