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Revision as of 13:22, 25 February 2012
, 12 years ago→Absolute v. relative paths
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__NOTOC__
The filesystem on your computer is like a tree made up of directories and files. The filesystem has a root directory called <tt>/</tt>, and everything on your computer lives in subdirectories of this root directory.
We often navigate the filesystem graphically by clicking on graphical folders. We can do the exact same navigation from the command line.
There are two commands that we'll be using at a command prompt to navigate the filesystem on your computer:
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<pre>cd
This will change you into the <code>
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<pre>dir</pre>
You should see the names of all the files and directories in <code>C:\
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<pre>cd ..</pre>
<code>..</code> means "parent directory", so this command moved you up to the parent directory. You were in <code>C:\
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This lists the contents of the root directory, confirming where you are.
===Absolute v. relative paths===
====Tips====▼
When navigating the filesystem, you can use 2 kinds of paths: absolute and relative.
* You can use Tab to auto-complete directory and file names. So from inside the root directory, if you type <code>cd Pytho</code> and hit Tab, the command prompt will auto-complete the directory name, and you can then hit enter to change into the <code>C:\Python27</code> directory.▼
<b>Absolute paths</b>
* An absolute path contains the full set of directories from the root of the file system up to your target file or directory. On Windows, an absolute path starts with a drive like <tt>C:\</tt>.
* You can <tt>cd</tt> to an absolute path from anywhere on the filesystem.
* This is an example absolute path: <tt>C:\Users\jesstess\projects</tt>
<b>Relative paths</b>
* A relative path is calculated relative to your "current working directory" -- the directory you are currently in at a command prompt, as displayed by <tt>pwd</tt>.
* This is an example relative path: <tt>projects</tt>. That path only has meaning given a current working directory. If your current working directory were <tt>C:\Users\jesstess</tt>, then <tt>cd projects</tt> would take you to <tt>C:\Users\jesstess\projects</tt> assuming that such a directory existed. If you were in <tt>C:\Users\brad\Desktop</tt>, then <tt>cd projects</tt> would take you to <tt>C:\Users\brad\Desktop\projects</tt>.
▲* You can use Tab to auto-complete directory and file names. So from inside the root directory, if you type <code>cd
* The command prompt maintains a command history. You can use the up arrow to cycle through old commands.
* Note that the text that makes up the command prompt changes as you move around directories. The command prompt will always give the full directory path to your current directory.
===Review===
Answer these questions. Experiment at the command line if you need to! If you aren't sure about an answer, ask a helper.
# What directory are you in after starting a new command line prompt?
# After starting a new command line prompt, how would you get to the root directory?
# How do you check what files and directories are in your current working directory?
# If you are in directory <tt>C:\Users</tt>, and you want to get to <tt>C:\Users\jesstess\projects</tt>, how would you do that?
# What are 2 ways to avoid typing out a full navigation command? (hint: one requires that you've run the command before)
# What is the difference between <tt>cd Users</tt> and <tt>cd C:\Users</tt>?
===Success!===
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