Difference between the path with and without '/'? [duplicate]

Question

I'm new to Python, and currently using the os module. I came across a doubt.

Can anyone explain me, what is the difference between the following lines?

os.mkdir('dir_name')
os.mkdir('/dir_name')

The former creates the folder in the current directory but what about the later? There's no folder created in the current directory, where is it created then?

Answer 1

os.mkdir('dir_name')  # relative

The first path is relative. The first code line will make a directory "dir_name" in the current working directory. It is relative because the path will change relative to the working directory.

os.mkdir('/dir_name')  # absolute

This second path is absolute. "/" refers the the operating system's root directory. The second code snippet will make a "dir_name" directory in the root directory. The path is absolute because unlike the "current working directory", the root directory will never change.

Answer 2

Consider os.mkdir('../dir_name') for full picture. It is also a relative, but uses .. to denote upper level folder, relative to current one.