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pathname

pathname System Class

Class Precedence List:

pathname, t

Description:

A pathname is a structured object which represents a filename.

There are two kinds of pathnames—physical pathnames and logical pathnames.

Expanded Reference: pathname (System Class)​

The pathname type​

A pathname is a structured object representing a filename. There are two kinds of pathnames: physical pathnames and logical pathnames. The #P reader macro creates pathname objects.

(type-of #P"/usr/local/bin/sbcl")
;; => PATHNAME  ; or a subtype, implementation-dependent

(typep #P"/tmp/test.lisp" 'pathname)
=> T

Pathnames have six components​

Every pathname has a host, device, directory, name, type, and version component. These can be accessed with the pathname-* accessor functions.

(let ((p (make-pathname :directory '(:absolute "home" "user")
                        :name "data"
                        :type "csv")))
  (list (pathname-directory p)
        (pathname-name p)
        (pathname-type p)))
=> ((:ABSOLUTE "home" "user") "data" "csv")

Pathnames from strings​

Strings are automatically coerced to pathnames in many contexts. The pathname function explicitly converts a pathname designator to a pathname object.

(pathnamep "foo.lisp")
=> NIL

(pathnamep (pathname "foo.lisp"))
=> T

Logical pathnames are a subtype​

Logical pathnames are a subtype of pathname that provide a portable way to refer to files independent of the actual file system.

(subtypep 'logical-pathname 'pathname)
=> T
=> T