Is this always necessary to use r before path declaration in python
Question:
I have often seen syntax like this in python code.
import os
os.chdir(r'C:UserstestDesktop')
I was wondering why would I need to give r before the path, I believe it has something to do with ” in the path , Is there any other way to give path instead of using r”
Answers:
It makes sure that the backslash doesn’t escape the characters. It’s same as
os.chdir('C:\Users\test\Desktop')
Only when it has escape sequences
print('C:syscatDesktop')
Better to give it as raw type to avoid the glitches or using forward slash.
‘r’ before string literal make Python parse it as a “raw” string, without escaping.
If you want not to use ‘r’ before string literal, but specify path with single slashes, you can use this notation:
"C:/Users/test/Desktop"
As it would be in unix-pased systems. Windows understand both “” and “/” in file paths, so, using “/” give you ability to avoid ‘r’ letter before the path string.
Also, as it was mentioned, you can specify path with double slashes, but, as I realized, this is not that you wanted:
"C:\Users\test\Desktop"
You can use forward slashes in Windows as well, so you dont need raw string literals:
>>> import os
>>> os.stat(r'C:Usersf3kDesktopexcel.vbs')
nt.stat_result(st_mode=33206, st_ino=0L, st_dev=0, st_nlink=0, st_uid=0, st_gid=0, st_size=555L, st_atime=1367585162L, st_mtime=1367586148L, st_ctime=1367585162L)
Same using forward slashes:
>>> os.stat('C:/Users/f3k/Desktop/excel.vbs')
nt.stat_result(st_mode=33206, st_ino=0L, st_dev=0, st_nlink=0, st_uid=0, st_gid=0, st_size=555L, st_atime=1367585162L, st_mtime=1367586148L, st_ctime=1367585162L)
But take care using os.path.join():
>>> os.path.join('C:/Users/f3k/Desktop', 'excel.vbs')
'C:/Users/f3k/Desktop\excel.vbs'
As per knowledge, you can use forward slash instead of backward slash and put r on it. If you use a backslash then you have to put r in front of it or you can do a forward slash if you want to.
Example – > You can try this in Jupyter notebook:
f = open(r'F:love.txt', 'r')
or
f = open('F:/love.txt', 'r')
Both will work fine.
I have often seen syntax like this in python code.
import os
os.chdir(r'C:UserstestDesktop')
I was wondering why would I need to give r before the path, I believe it has something to do with ” in the path , Is there any other way to give path instead of using r”
It makes sure that the backslash doesn’t escape the characters. It’s same as
os.chdir('C:\Users\test\Desktop')
Only when it has escape sequences
print('C:syscatDesktop')
Better to give it as raw type to avoid the glitches or using forward slash.
‘r’ before string literal make Python parse it as a “raw” string, without escaping.
If you want not to use ‘r’ before string literal, but specify path with single slashes, you can use this notation:
"C:/Users/test/Desktop"
As it would be in unix-pased systems. Windows understand both “” and “/” in file paths, so, using “/” give you ability to avoid ‘r’ letter before the path string.
Also, as it was mentioned, you can specify path with double slashes, but, as I realized, this is not that you wanted:
"C:\Users\test\Desktop"
You can use forward slashes in Windows as well, so you dont need raw string literals:
>>> import os
>>> os.stat(r'C:Usersf3kDesktopexcel.vbs')
nt.stat_result(st_mode=33206, st_ino=0L, st_dev=0, st_nlink=0, st_uid=0, st_gid=0, st_size=555L, st_atime=1367585162L, st_mtime=1367586148L, st_ctime=1367585162L)
Same using forward slashes:
>>> os.stat('C:/Users/f3k/Desktop/excel.vbs')
nt.stat_result(st_mode=33206, st_ino=0L, st_dev=0, st_nlink=0, st_uid=0, st_gid=0, st_size=555L, st_atime=1367585162L, st_mtime=1367586148L, st_ctime=1367585162L)
But take care using os.path.join():
>>> os.path.join('C:/Users/f3k/Desktop', 'excel.vbs')
'C:/Users/f3k/Desktop\excel.vbs'
As per knowledge, you can use forward slash instead of backward slash and put r on it. If you use a backslash then you have to put r in front of it or you can do a forward slash if you want to.
Example – > You can try this in Jupyter notebook:
f = open(r'F:love.txt', 'r')
or
f = open('F:/love.txt', 'r')
Both will work fine.