Syntax error Using Windows with replace ("\\", "\") for file path in Python

Question

I am attempting to change the double forward slashes of the path seperators with single forward slashes. The program reads a text file with a list of files including paths. I am also using a windows box.

f = open('C:/Users/visc/scratch/scratch_child/test.txt')

destination = ('C:/Users/visc')
# read input file line by line
for line in f:

  line = line.replace("\\", "/")
  #split the drive and path using os.path.splitdrive
  (drive, path) = os.path.splitdrive(line)
  #split the path and fliename using os.path.split
  (path, filename) = os.path.split(path)
  #print the stripped line
  print line.strip()
  #print the drive, path, and filename info
  print('Drive is %s Path is %s and file is %s' % (drive, path, filename))

With:

  line = line.replace("\\", "/")

It works fine but not what I want.. But if I replace the forward slash with a backward slash, I get a syntax error

KQ. · Accepted Answer · 2012-05-09 23:09:28Z

4

Backslash \ is an escape character that indicates that the character following it should be interpreted specially. Like \n for carriage return. If the character following the single backslash isn't a valid character for interpretation, it will error.

A backslash is a valid character for interpretation meaning a single backslash. So:

line = line.replace("\\", "/")

will replace a single backslash with a single forward slash. To convert a double backslash to a single backslash, use:

line = line.replace("\\\\", "\\")

answered May 9, 2012 at 23:09

KQ.

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