Get file path ruby code#

Instead, all methods like dirname, join or basename return a new Pathname instance, leaving the existing instance unchanged. There are no methods that change the Pathname instance itself. An important difference from Ruby’s vanilla strings is that Pathname instances are immutable.

Get file path ruby code#

This code already looks a lot more like idiomatic Ruby. A string is a far too generic a data type for such specific functionality.Įnter Pathname: CONFIG_PATH = Pathname.new(_FILE_).dirname.join('.', 'config.yml')īy wrapping the string in a Pathname object, we get a clean API for manipulating the path.

In this case, we’re simply manipulating strings, but it doesn’t really make sense to add join and dirname to String. But what’s the alternative? The object-oriented thing-to-do would be to move the functionality closer to the data on which it operates. Notice the use of class methods, a rare sight in a language where everything is an object. This is how we did things in the 1.8 days: CONFIG_PATH = File.join(File.dirname(_FILE_), '.', 'config.yml') To show why Pathname was a much needed addition, let’s consider the more traditional way of manipulating path information. Now that the life of Ruby 1.8 has officially come to an end, and 1.9 is nearing its fifth birthday, it’s high time to drop the legacy support and embrace the elegance and ease of use Pathname has to offer. Introduced in Ruby 1.9, Pathname represents a path on the file system, providing convenient access to functionality that is otherwise scattered across a handful of other classes like File, FileTest, and Dir. Ruby’s standard library is a treasure trove of useful classes, and the Pathname class is certainly one of them.