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Pathnames

File and folder functions, properties, and commands allow you to handle files and folders as objects. This makes file and folder management powerful and flexible. For example, to create a new file in the resources folder, you can write:

ok = file("/RESOURCES/Archives/JohnQ.prefs").create()

File and folder objects support fileSystem pathnames, which provide contextual path to main application folders.

Filesystem pathnames​

QodlyScript accepts several filesystem pathnames that designate specific folders. Filesystem pathnames are useful for two main reasons:

  • Independence: You can move your solution from one place to another regardless of the environment, without having to worry about paths,
  • Security: No code can access elements located above the file system root on the disk (sandboxing).

The following filesystem pathnames are supported:

filesystemDesignates
"/PACKAGE"Project root folder
"/DATA"Current data folder
"/LOGS"Logs folder
"/PROJECT"Project folder
"/SOURCES"Current project sources folder
"/RESOURCES"Current project ressources folder

POSIX syntax​

QodlyScript uses the POSIX syntax. With this syntax:

  • folders are separated by "/"
  • absolute pathnames start with a "/"
  • to move up one folder in a relative path, use "../" in front of the pathname (for security, you cannot move up the filesystem).

In POSIX syntax, you will generally use filesystem pathnames with file and folder commands, for example:

pathFile = file("/DATA/Archives/file 2.txt")
pathFolder = folder("/RESOURCES/Pictures")

file and folder constructors​

file and Folder commands only accept absolute pathnames. Relative pathnames are not supported and will return errors. For example, the following code is not allowed:

    //ERROR
ko = folder("myFolder").create() //relative pathname with constructor

If you want to handle files or folders in various locations (project folder, system folders, etc.), you must use filesystems. For example, you can write:

okFolder = folder("/PACKAGE/myFolder").create() //folder created at the project level
okFile = file("/DATA/Prefs/tempo.txt").create() //file created in the data folder

Examples​

The flexibility of file and folder functions offers you various possibilities for handling files and folders, like in the following examples:

f = folder("/DATA").folder("archive/jan2023")

f2 = folder("/DATA/archive/jan2023").file("total.txt")

f3 = folder("/DATA/archive/jan2023")

f4 = file("/DATA/info.txt")