Path Absolutize

This is a library for extending Path and PathBuf in order to get an absolute path and remove the containing dots.

The difference between absolutize and canonicalize methods is that absolutize does not care about whether the file exists and what the file really is.

Please read the following examples to know the parsing rules.

Examples

There are two methods you can use.

absolutize

Get an absolute path.

The dots in a path will be parsed even if it is already an absolute path (which means the path starts with a MAIN_SEPARATOR on Unix-like systems).

use std::path::Path;

use path_absolutize::*;

let p = Path::new("/path/to/123/456");

assert_eq!("/path/to/123/456", p.absolutize().unwrap().to_str().unwrap());

use std::path::Path;

use path_absolutize::*;

let p = Path::new("/path/to/./123/../456");

assert_eq!("/path/to/456", p.absolutize().unwrap().to_str().unwrap());

If a path starts with a single dot, the dot means your program's current working directory (CWD).

use std::path::Path;
use std::env;

use path_absolutize::*;

let p = Path::new("./path/to/123/456");

assert_eq!(Path::join(env::current_dir().unwrap().as_path(), Path::new("path/to/123/456")).to_str().unwrap(), p.absolutize().unwrap().to_str().unwrap());

If a path starts with a pair of dots, the dots means the parent of the CWD. If the CWD is root, the parent is still root.

use std::path::Path;
use std::env;

use path_absolutize::*;

let p = Path::new("../path/to/123/456");

let cwd = env::current_dir().unwrap();

let cwd_parent = cwd.parent();

match cwd_parent {
   Some(cwd_parent) => {
       assert_eq!(Path::join(&cwd_parent, Path::new("path/to/123/456")).to_str().unwrap(), p.absolutize().unwrap().to_str().unwrap());
   }
   None => {
       assert_eq!(Path::join(Path::new("/"), Path::new("path/to/123/456")).to_str().unwrap(), p.absolutize().unwrap().to_str().unwrap());
   }
}

A path which does not start with a MAIN_SEPARATOR, Single Dot and Double Dots, will act like having a single dot at the start when absolutize method is used.

use std::path::Path;
use std::env;

use path_absolutize::*;

let p = Path::new("path/to/123/456");

assert_eq!(Path::join(env::current_dir().unwrap().as_path(), Path::new("path/to/123/456")).to_str().unwrap(), p.absolutize().unwrap().to_str().unwrap());

use std::path::Path;
use std::env;

use path_absolutize::*;

let p = Path::new("path/../../to/123/456");

let cwd = env::current_dir().unwrap();

let cwd_parent = cwd.parent();

match cwd_parent {
   Some(cwd_parent) => {
       assert_eq!(Path::join(&cwd_parent, Path::new("to/123/456")).to_str().unwrap(), p.absolutize().unwrap().to_str().unwrap());
   }
   None => {
       assert_eq!(Path::join(Path::new("/"), Path::new("to/123/456")).to_str().unwrap(), p.absolutize().unwrap().to_str().unwrap());
   }
}

Starting from a given current working directory

With the absolutize_from function, you can provide the current working directory that the relative paths should be resolved from.

use std::env;
use std::path::Path;

use path_absolutize::*;

let p = Path::new("../path/to/123/456");
let cwd = env::current_dir().unwrap();

println!("{}", p.absolutize_from(cwd).to_str().unwrap());

absolutize_virtually

Get an absolute path only under a specific directory.

The dots in a path will be parsed even if it is already an absolute path (which means the path starts with a MAIN_SEPARATOR on Unix-like systems).

use std::path::Path;

use path_absolutize::*;

let p = Path::new("/path/to/123/456");

assert_eq!("/path/to/123/456", p.absolutize_virtually("/").unwrap().to_str().unwrap());

use std::path::Path;

use path_absolutize::*;

let p = Path::new("/path/to/./123/../456");

assert_eq!("/path/to/456", p.absolutize_virtually("/").unwrap().to_str().unwrap());

Every absolute path should under the virtual root.

use std::path::Path;

use std::io::ErrorKind;

use path_absolutize::*;

let p = Path::new("/path/to/123/456");

assert_eq!(ErrorKind::InvalidInput, p.absolutize_virtually("/virtual/root").unwrap_err().kind());

Every relative path should under the virtual root.

use std::path::Path;

use std::io::ErrorKind;

use path_absolutize::*;

let p = Path::new("./path/to/123/456");

assert_eq!(ErrorKind::InvalidInput, p.absolutize_virtually("/virtual/root").unwrap_err().kind());

use std::path::Path;

use std::io::ErrorKind;

use path_absolutize::*;

let p = Path::new("../path/to/123/456");

assert_eq!(ErrorKind::InvalidInput, p.absolutize_virtually("/virtual/root").unwrap_err().kind());

A path which does not start with a MAIN_SEPARATOR, Single Dot and Double Dots, will be located in the virtual root after the absolutize_virtually method is used.

use std::path::Path;

use path_absolutize::*;

let p = Path::new("path/to/123/456");

assert_eq!("/virtual/root/path/to/123/456", p.absolutize_virtually("/virtual/root").unwrap().to_str().unwrap());

use std::path::Path;

use path_absolutize::*;

let p = Path::new("path/to/../../../../123/456");

assert_eq!("/virtual/root/123/456", p.absolutize_virtually("/virtual/root").unwrap().to_str().unwrap());

Caching

By default, the absolutize method and the absolutize_virtually method create a new PathBuf instance of the CWD every time they need it in their operation. The overhead is obvious. Although it allows us to safely change the CWD at runtime by the program itself (e.g. using the std::env::set_current_dir function) or outside controls (e.g. using gdb to call chdir), we don't need that in most cases.

In order to parse paths with better performance, the fixed_workdir feature can be enabled.

[dependencies.path-absolutize]
version = "*"
features = ["fixed_workdir"]

Benchmark

No-cache

cargo bench

fixed_workdir

cargo bench --features fixed_workdir

Crates.io

https://crates.io/crates/path-absolutize

Documentation

https://docs.rs/path-absolutize

License

MIT