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What is the purpose of glob?

Published in Programming 2 mins read

Glob's Purpose:

Glob is a powerful tool that enables you to search for files or directories that match a specific pattern, simplifying file management and automation. It's like a wildcard search for files, where you define a pattern with special characters, and glob finds all the matching files.

Think of it like using a wildcard in a web search – you can find all web pages containing the word "cat" by searching for "cat". Glob works similarly for finding files and directories on your computer.

How Glob Works:

Glob uses pattern matching to identify files that fit your criteria. Here are some common patterns you can use:

  • *"" (asterisk):** Matches any sequence of characters, including zero characters.
    • Example: *.txt would match all files ending in ".txt"
  • "?" (question mark): Matches any single character.
    • Example: ?.txt would match any file with a single-character name followed by ".txt"
  • "[...]" (brackets): Matches any character within the brackets.
    • Example: [abc].txt would match a.txt, b.txt, and c.txt

Using Glob in Different Programming Languages:

Glob is implemented in various programming languages and operating systems, including:

  • Python: The glob module provides functions for finding files using patterns.
  • Bash: Glob is used for expanding file names in command line scripts.
  • JavaScript: You can use the glob library to find files within your projects.

Benefits of Using Glob:

  • Reduces code complexity: By using a single pattern, you can efficiently locate multiple files instead of listing each one individually.
  • Flexibility: The wildcard patterns provide great flexibility in defining your search criteria.
  • Efficiency: Glob is optimized for finding files based on specific patterns, saving time compared to manually listing each file.

Examples:

  • Finding all Python files in a directory: glob.glob("*.py")
  • Finding all text files in a directory: glob.glob("*.txt")
  • Finding all files starting with "image" in a directory: glob.glob("image*")

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