What is os.path.basename() method in Python?

Overview

OSOperating System modules provide a portable way to interact with operating system-level commands in Python. Moreover, the os.path allows handling files in different places of a local file system.

We use the os.path.basename()function to extract a specified path name's base name. It invokes os.path.split() to split the whole file path into a pair of head and tail paths. Therefore, it returns the tail part only.

Syntax

Parameters

It takes only a single argument value:

• path: This is a string or path-like object representing a file path in a local system.

Return value

It returns the tail part of the path as a string value.

Code

Explanation

In this code, we'll elaborate on the os.path.basename() function and how we can use it in our program.

• Lines 4–7: We'll use the path variable. It already contains the base name of a pathname. Thus, we'll use the path.basename(path) function to return the file name 'employee.csv' as it is.
• Lines 10–13: We've a path that contains the pathname of the file. We'll use the path.basename(path) to return the base file name (employee.csv) only. Because it splits a pathname into head and tail parts. Thus, file name is returned and printed on the console.
• Lines 16–19: In this case, the path='./root/usrcode/' does not contain the base file name. Thus, the head part will be ./root/usrcode/ while the tail will be empty (' '). So, it will print whitespace on the console.