PATH

Section: C Library Functions (3)
Updated: 12/5/79
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NAME

path - split pathname into directory and file parts

SYNOPSIS

path (pathname,direc,file);
char *pathname,*direc,*file;

DESCRIPTION

Path breaks a complete pathname into a filename part and a directory part. It handles all pathnames allowed in UNIX. The resulting filename will not have trailing slashes, and will not be null. The resulting directory name will not be null.

You provide three strings: pathname, the complete name to be split, direc, a buffer into which the directory part will be copied, and file, a buffer to hold the filename part. You must ensure that the buffers are big enough.

The handling of most names is obvious, but several special cases exist. The name "f", containing no slashes, is split into directory "." and filename "f". The name "/" is directory "/" and filename ".". The path "" is directory "." and filename ".".

BUGS

The string direc must be big enough to hold the entire pathname, since it is used as working storage by path.

A possible future modification to path would add the additional proviso that the directory part will be an absolute pathname. The implementation of this is simple -- you perform getwd, and prepend the value (with a separating "/"), but only if the original pathname is not absolute (i.e. does not begin with "/"). It is also possible (but not necessary) to resolve initial "../" substrings in pathname at that time.