Function try_exe_dir

pub fn try_exe_dir() -> Result<&'static Path, AppPathError>

Get the executable’s directory (fallible).

Use this only for libraries or specialized applications. Most applications should use exe_dir() for simpler, cleaner code.

Examples

use app_path::try_exe_dir;

// Library with graceful error handling
match try_exe_dir() {
    Ok(exe_dir) => {
        println!("Executable directory: {}", exe_dir.display());
        let config = exe_dir.join("config.toml");
    }
    Err(e) => {
        eprintln!("Failed to get executable directory: {}", e);
        // Implement fallback strategy
    }
}

// Use with ? operator
fn get_config_dir() -> Result<std::path::PathBuf, Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let exe_dir = try_exe_dir()?;
    Ok(exe_dir.join("config"))
}

Once the executable directory is successfully determined by either this function or exe_dir(), the result is cached globally and all subsequent calls to both functions will use the cached value. This means that after the first successful call, try_exe_dir() will never return an error.

Returns

• Ok(&'static Path) - The directory containing the current executable
• Err(AppPathError) - Failed to determine executable location

Performance

This function is highly optimized:

• First call: Determines and caches the executable directory
• Subsequent calls: Returns the cached result immediately (no system calls)
• Thread-safe: Safe to call from multiple threads concurrently

Examples

Library Error Handling

use app_path::try_exe_dir;

// Handle the error explicitly
match try_exe_dir() {
    Ok(exe_dir) => {
        println!("Executable directory: {}", exe_dir.display());
        // Use exe_dir for further operations
    }
    Err(e) => {
        eprintln!("Failed to get executable directory: {}", e);
        // Implement fallback strategy
    }
}

Use with ? Operator

use app_path::try_exe_dir;

// Use with the ? operator in functions that return Result
fn get_config_dir() -> Result<std::path::PathBuf, Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let exe_dir = try_exe_dir()?;
    Ok(exe_dir.join("config"))
}