Create folders in directory from values in list. Python

Question

so what I am trying to do is: 1) Use a for loop to create a folder within a directory, 2) write the output file to this folder

i am trying to use the value in the for-loop as part of the input2 name and the folder name

import os,re
values = ['alpha','123']

query_file = '/Users/name/Desktop/query.txt' # 'a\nb\nc\nd\n4\n5\n6\n'
reading_file = '/Users/name/Desktop/alpha.txt' #'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz'
#reading_file = '/Users/name/Desktop/123.txt' #'123456789'

output_file='/Users/name/Desktop/output.txt'

def func(input1,input2,output):
    query=open(input1,'r').read().split('\n')
    reading = open(input2,'r').read()


    dir,file=os.path.split(input1)                
    temp_out= os.path.join(dir,output)            
    out_file=open(temp_out,'w') 

    for line in query:
        m = re.search(line,reading)
        if bool(m) == True:
            out_file.write( str( m.start() ) +'\n')


print func(query_file,reading_file,output_file)

so it creates a file called output.txt that is in the SAME directory as the input but i want it to (create a folder based on the name) and put the file (within the folder)

right now, i have to do this one at a time and create the folders individually to place the files. . . i would like to use the 'values' list as the 'reading_file' endings (the first one ends in 'alpha' followed by .txt extension, and the second one leads to '123' followed by .txt)

in the end there should be two folders:

'/Users/name/Desktop/alpha/output.txt'

'/Users/name/Desktop/123/output.txt'

*note that the outputs should be different because the inputs should change relative to what is being called in the for loop

i apologize if this is confusing but i'm trying to simplify it as much as possible from what my script is doing. let me know if i need to clarify anything

Eiyrioü von Kauyf · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-26 20:09:37Z

3

to make a folder:

import os
os.mkdir(path[, mode])

if you want to make a directory such as

~/dinosaur/llama/nested/etc/

then you should use os.makedirs(path[, mode]) as it builds all the nested paths needed to make sure that is valid

so say you're currently in ~/tmp

>>> import os
>>> os.mkdir('llama')
>>> os.mkdir('me')

to make the folders inside that directory.

but what if we wanted inside ~/llama/me/ but we're still in ~/tmp~? then you can use mkdir twice, or you can just use

>>> import os
>>> os.makedirs('/home/llama/me')

edited Jul 26, 2013 at 20:09

answered Jul 26, 2013 at 20:04

Eiyrioü von Kauyf

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2 Comments

O.rka Over a year ago

where do you specify the name of the folder ?

Eiyrioü von Kauyf Over a year ago

that would be path - it's the path of the folder

twil · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-26 20:18:40Z

If I understood your question right you just want to iterate through values and output found locations (something) in special folders (files). So slightly modifying your code

import os, re
values = ['alpha','123']

BASE_PATH = '/Users/name/Desktop/'
OUTPUT_FILE_NAME = 'output.txt'

query_file = os.path.join(BASE_PATH, 'query.txt') # 'a\nb\nc\nd\n4\n5\n6\n'

def func(query_file, reading_files):
    with open(query_file,'r') as f:
        query = f.read().split('\n')

    # TODO: check query

    for fbase in reading_files:
        in_file_name = os.path.join(BASE_PATH, '{}.txt'.format(fbase))
        out_dir = os.path.join(BASE_PATH, fbase)
        out_file_name = os.path.join(out_dir, OUTPUT_FILE_NAME)

        # TODO: check if out_dir exists but is regular file
        if not os.path.isdir(out_dir):
            os.mkdir(out_dir)

        with open(in_file_name, 'r') as in_file, open(out_file_name, 'w') as out_file:
            reading = in_file.read()

            for line in query:
                m = re.search(line, reading)
                if m is not None:
                    out_file.write("{}\n".format(str(m.start())))


print(func(query_file, values))

Basicaly it's easier to work with files with with;)

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