Assessment Questions: Full versus relative paths

Apr 16, 2013 • Daniel Falster

These questions are based on Julia Gustavsen’s concept map about “Full versus relative paths” http://teaching.software-carpentry.org/2013/03/27/concept-map-full-vs-absolute-paths/

TWO QUESTIONS THAT DISTINGUISH NOVICE FROM COMPETENT PRACTITIONER

  1. You are working within a folder called foo. The directory containing foo, called mammafoo, also contains a folder called bar. What is the relative pathname of the bar folder from your current working directory?

  2. You are working deep within your directory structure in a folder called lost, and want to link to a folder called foo located within your home directory. What is the pathname of the foo directory?

TWO QUESTIONS THAT DISTINGUISH COMPETENT PRACTITIONER FROM EXPERT

  1. You are setting up a project with several scripts and sub-directories. How would you define path names in your scripts to ensure that the project runs, even if the folder is moved to another location or computer?

  2. Please explain the possible meanings of the directory “root” and the implications for your workflow.