A short explanation of how and why file paths are important in programming. To be used with the Python demo file testFile.py

1. FILE PATHS AND
PROGRAMMING
SARAH BETH BENES

2. WHAT IS A FILE PATH?
• A program will first look in the current directory for
• data files
• module files
• Next it will look in a specified file path
• Your compiler has default paths for built in modules
• Advanced programming, you will want to specify your own
file paths
• For now, keep everything in the same directory

3. TWO WAYS TO SEE A FILE PATH
FILE EXPLORER - LIBRARIES FILE EXPLORER – DISK VIEW

4. TWO WAYS TO SEE A FILE PATH
FILE EXPLORER - LIBRARIES
• at the top it shows the file
path.
• Starting from “libraries”
• LibrariesDocuments
• STCPythonChapter Files

5. TWO WAYS TO SEE A FILE PATH
FILE EXPLORER - LIBRARIES FILE EXPLORER DISK VIEW
• at the top it shows the file
path.
• Starting from “c:”
• C:UsersPublicPublic
Documents
• STCPythonChapter Files

6. THE FILE PATH YOU NEED TO KNOW
•Both of these are the same file location
•You need to know the file path the computer
uses
•C:UsersPublicDocumentsSTCPythonChapt
er files

7. TO USE YOUR CURRENT LOCATION AS A
STARTING PLACE USE THE DOUBLE
• STCPythonChapter
Files
• The problem with this
comes back to using a
space in a name
• Use good naming
conventions for your
disk, also
FLASH DRIVE

8. TO USE YOUR CURRENT LOCATION AS A
STARTING PLACE USE THE DOUBLE
• STCPythonChapter
Files
• The problem with this
comes back to using a
space in a name
• Use good naming
conventions for your
disk, also
FLASH DRIVE

9. HOW TO SHARE IT
• If you are going to use your program on another computer
• Write the pathname relative to the drive it is on
•
• Instead of a drive letter
• You will want to zip your entire folder, so that it can be
unzipped with the same relative locations
• See sample file