[Tutor] File path requirements (absolute or relative)?

[Peter Otten]

boB Stepp wrote:

> My file structure for a project is as follows:
> 
> ~
>      | Projects
>          | project_name
>              | docs
>              | src
>                  project_name.py
>              | tests
>                  test.py
>                  test_csv_file.csv
> 
> I wish to pass the path for "test_csv_file.csv" from the test.py program
> to
> the function in src/project_name.py which processes csv files.  Ideally I
> would like to use a relative path name like "../tests/test_csv_file" and

For that to work the current working directory has to be src, or docs, or 
tests.

If you want to be independent from the working directory you can determine 
the directory containing tests.py from within tests.py with 
os.path.dirname(__file__).

> have the function in src/project_name.py to be able to use it.  But so far
> all of my efforts to use a relative path name have failed.  Even
> "~/Projects/project_name/tests/test_csv_file.csv" fails.  Only when I use
> the absolute path name
> "/Home/bob/Projects/project_name/tests/test_csv_file.csv" does the test
> complete successfully.  What am I misunderstanding?
>