Understanding Node.js Path Module

The path module in Node.js provides utilities for working with file and directory paths. It's a core module, meaning it comes pre-installed with Node.js, so there's no need to install it separately.

Why Use the path Module?

1. Cross-Platform Compatibility: File paths differ between operating systems (/ on Unix-like vs \ on Windows). The path module ensures your code works seamlessly across platforms.
2. Simplifies Path Operations: Tasks like joining, resolving, or normalizing paths become straightforward.
3. Error Prevention: Avoid hardcoding paths, reducing potential errors and improving maintainability.

importing path module

const path = require('path'); // CommonJS

// or in ES modules
import path from 'path';
```js
const path = require('path'); // CommonJS
import path from 'path';  //// ES modules

Code snippets for path modules

//1.path.basename()

const filePath = '/users/sudarshan/docs/file.txt';
console.log(path.basename(filePath)); // Output: file.txt
console.log(path.basename(filePath, '.txt')); // Output: file

//2.path.dirname()
console.log(path.dirname(filePath)); // Output: /users/sudarshan/docs
 
//3.path.extname()
console.log(path.extname(filePath)); // Output: .txt

//4.path.join()
const folder = '/users/sudarshan';
const file = 'file.txt';
console.log(path.join(folder, 'docs', file)); 
// Output: /users/sudarshan/docs/file.txt

path.resolve() and path.normalize()

path.resolve()

• Resolves a sequence of path segments into an absolute path.
• Takes the current working directory into account.
  path.normalize()
• Normalizes a path by resolving .. and . segments.

console.log(path.resolve('docs', 'file.txt')); 
// Output: Absolute path based on your current directory.hint:cwd()+docs+file.txt
console.log(path.normalize('/users/sudarshan/../docs/file.txt')); 
// Output: /users/docs/file.txt

Note:What is absolute and relative path?
Absolute path start from root while relative path depend on current working directory.
Absolute path start from / or \ and relative path start from nothing but direct dir or file name.
We can also find relative path from two path.eg:

const from = '/users/sudarshan/docs';
const to = '/users/sudarshan/images';

console.log(path.relative(from, to)); 
// Output: ../images