Is it possible to specify the previous directory python?

Question

I am attempting to make a Python testing script module self-contained directory-wise for scalability and maintainability purposes.

I have done some research and haven't been able to find the answer i'm looking for. Basically, I would like to determine if there is a function in Python that can do something similar to cd - in shell.

I would generally like to avoid typing in full path-names, and have all the paths relative to a specified environment.

Example: I have my main directory where my scripts are located python-scripts, I have folders for each testing environment demo, and a screenshot folder for each testing environment demo-screenshots.

If i wanted to save a screenshot to the screenshot with Python, while working in the demo directory, I would just send it to the directory below: demo-screenshots, using the path '/demo-screenshots/example.png'. The problem is that I don't understand how to move back a directory.

Thank you.

Answer 1

You're looking to change the working directory? The OS module in python has a lot of functions to help with this.

import os
os.chdir( path )

path being ".." to go up one directory. If you need to check where you are before/after a change of directory you can issue the getcwd() command:

mycwd = os.getcwd()
os.chdir("..")
#do stuff in parent directory
os.chdir(mycwd)     # go back where you came from