path.basename and path.dirname in Node.js - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Using path.basename and path.dirname in Node.js

📖 Scenario: You are working on a Node.js script that processes file paths. You want to extract the file name and the directory name from a given file path.

🎯 Goal: Build a simple Node.js script that uses path.basename to get the file name and path.dirname to get the directory name from a file path string.

📋 What You'll Learn

Import the built-in path module

Create a variable with a specific file path string

Use path.basename to get the file name

Use path.dirname to get the directory name

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

File path manipulation is common in scripts that organize, move, or analyze files on your computer or server.

💼 Career

Understanding how to extract parts of file paths is useful for backend developers, DevOps engineers, and anyone working with file systems in Node.js.

1

Import the path module and create a file path variable

Write code to import the built-in path module using require('path'). Then create a variable called filePath and set it to the string "/home/user/docs/letter.txt".

Node.js

# Import the path module and create filePath variable
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use const path = require('path') to import the module. Then assign the exact string "/home/user/docs/letter.txt" to filePath.

2

Create variables for base name and directory name

Create two variables: baseName and dirName. Set baseName to the result of path.basename(filePath). Set dirName to the result of path.dirname(filePath).

Node.js

const path = require('path');
const filePath = "/home/user/docs/letter.txt";
# Create baseName and dirName variables using path.basename and path.dirname
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use path.basename(filePath) to get the file name and path.dirname(filePath) to get the directory path.

3

Add a variable for file extension

Create a variable called extName and set it to the result of path.extname(filePath) to get the file extension.

Node.js

const path = require('path');
const filePath = "/home/user/docs/letter.txt";
const baseName = path.basename(filePath);
const dirName = path.dirname(filePath);
# Create extName variable using path.extname
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use path.extname(filePath) to get the file extension like '.txt'.

4

Export the variables as a module

Add a module.exports statement to export an object with baseName, dirName, and extName properties.

Node.js

const path = require('path');
const filePath = "/home/user/docs/letter.txt";
const baseName = path.basename(filePath);
const dirName = path.dirname(filePath);
const extName = path.extname(filePath);
# Export baseName, dirName, and extName
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use module.exports = { baseName, dirName, extName } to export the variables.