Hello,

This patch adds a 'relpath' function to module os.path
as per RFE bpo-1309676 and also this thread:
http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2005-September/056709.html

Here's a description of this function:
"relpath(path, start=os.curdir)
Return a relative filepath to 'path' either from the
current directory or from a specified 'start' point."

This patch includes Windows and *nix versions.
It has been tested on Windows XP and OS/X 10.4.

Note: there is no 'classic mac' version as I don't know
that platform :-(

Changed files are:
lib/ntpath.py
lib/test/test_ntpath.py
lib/posixpath.py
lib/test/test_posixpath.py

I'll send a second patch for the documentation shortly.

As this is my first submission please be gentle with me
if there are any basic errors :-)

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Thanks for the patch, it's not in bad shape. Please attach
the doc patch file here. It's easier to have a single patch
than multiple.

A couple of things about the patch. Some of these should be
in PEP-8.

• <> is deprecated in favor of != (didn't see this doc'd in
  PEP-8 though, maybe it's in another PEP)
• don't add extra parentheses, e.g.,
  (abspath(start)).split(sep) should be abspath(start).split(sep)
• I'm not sure it's worth checking that there's a path. I
  noticed that abspath() didn't have a similar check. I
  didn't look for other places, but doubt there is much error
  checking since a reasonable exception should be raised.
• The for loop is a lot to swallow. It would be easier to
  read if you used a local variable for the min_len IMO.
• I'd like to see a test case for: relpath("a", "a")
• I'd like to see test cases in ntpath for paths with a
  drive letter
• I'd like to see test cases for the exceptions raised in
  ntpath

Another note that isn't a big deal. It's good that you made
a single patch file. I think most other developers prefer
the patch to start one level up. ie, don't start in Lib/,
include it in the patch. I certainly prefer it this way so
I don't have to cd much. It just makes development a little
easier.

You can attach new versions to this tracker item, but try to
remember to add a description that says version # so no one
reviews an older version.

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Hi,

Thanks for all your comments; I'll amend my code & re-submit
a patch.
I've got a few questions for you:

"
I'm not sure it's worth checking that there's
a path. I noticed that abspath() didn't have a similar
check. I
didn't look for other places, but doubt there is much
error checking since a reasonable exception should be raised.
"

By adding this check on the input I wanted to avoid this
error message:

 >>> os.path.relpath('')
Traceback (most recent call last):
   File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
   File
"/usr/local/cvsrep/python/dist/src/Lib/posixpath.py", line
473, in relpath
     return os.path.join(*rel_list)
TypeError: join() takes at least 1 argument (0 given)

Which to me is obscure and forces you to dive into the
stdlib code to understand the real cause of the problem.
I'd noticed that the other functions in os.path don't seem
to check input, but usually a sensible default value can be
assumed (example, with abspath: if no argument is given it's
sensible to use the current dir instead).
So I'd like to keep the check on the input. However if you
feel that it's not needed I'll remove it.

"
I'd like to see test cases for the exceptions raised in
ntpath
"

When writing this I tried to maintain a consistent style
with the other tests in the test_ntpath.py script which all
use the "tester" function. As far as I can tell, this
function doesn't allow testing of exceptions.
I was tempted to use Unittest instead (as per the tests I
wrote for
posixpath.py) as it would allow testing of exceptions, but
decided to try and maintain consistency.
Do you think I should switch to using UnitTest instead?

Regards, Richard

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To the OP: have you completed the patch?

To the others: is this okay to get into 2.5?

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Most of the patch is completed as per Neal's suggestions for
improvement.
I had a few questions outstanding for Neal and depending on
his advice I was going to modify the input checks and/or the
unit tests.

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Sorry Richard. It's still in my inbox. I'll try to get to
it soon. Feel free to post any info/questions here so
others can answer too.

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Hi all,
Going on vacation for a few days, will try to finish this
patch for the new year.

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Here is a second version of the 'relpath' function.
I've modified it as per Neal Norwitz's comments, with two
exceptions:

• I've left in a check for a path supplied on input, as
  otherwise an unclear exception is raised.
• I haven't written any test cases for exceptions in
  ntpath.py, as the "tester" function doesn't seem to handle them.

This function (if accepted) will also require the following
addition to the documentation:

relpath(path, start=os.curdir) 
Return a relative filepath to 'path' either from the current
directory or from an optional 'start' point.

I've attaching a tweaked/updated version of this patch.

Is anyone bothered that there's no OS/2 or classic Mac implementation for this? If not, I can go ahead and commit it.

File Added: relpath.patch

Since there is an "Availability" remark, I wouldn't be concerned.

Checked in as r54419. Thanks for the patch, Richard!

The test fails on Windows. In particular, this test:

self.assertEqual(posixpath.relpath(os.path.abspath("a")), "a")

fails. os.path.abspath("a") gives something like r"c:\python26\a". posixpath.relpath is then not able to cope with it. As a result, it returns r"c:\python26\a" as the relative path.

Using posixpath.abspath doesn't help, either, since that will give r"c:\python26/a" which relpath then still cannot process correctly.

One solution would be to use pass a POSIX path and start path to relpath; the other would be to use os.path in both cases.
os.path.relpath(os.path.abspath("a")) does indeed give "a" on Windows.

Since the trouble is os.getcwd() returns a non-posix path on Windows, I've taken the approach of mocking os.getcwd() so that it returns something posix-y.

Martin, could you verify that the attached patch works on Windows?
File Added: test_posixpath.py.diff

The patch works fine, please apply.

Checked in as r54556.