Should a directory path variable end with a trailing slash?

unix file variables path
meleyal picture meleyal · Jun 11, 2009 · Viewed 35.5k times · Source

When defining a path to a directory as a variable or constant, should it end with a trailing slash? What is the convention?

pwd in Unix shows your current directory without a trailing slash, while the tab complete of cd /var/www/apps/ includes the trailing slash, which left me unsure.

Answer

Dave Sherohman picture Dave Sherohman · Jun 11, 2009

I go with the trailing slash because:

  1. "If it ends with a slash, it's a directory. If not, it's a file." is an easy convention to remember.

  2. At least on the operating systems I commonly use, doubling the slash causes no problems, while omitting the slash causes big ones. It is, therefore, safest to both put the slash into the variable and use "$path/$file" when making use of it.

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