path

So, you're sitting there, looking at your Mac Finder window, and you see the file you need to work with, but wait ... what is the path to the directory you're looking at?

The Finder is a clever interface -- especially now that it sports four different views -- but at times like this, it just leaves you hanging. I run into this problem all the time when I go to upload a file using any of my web-based email clients, or when I upload a file using a web form.

Question: Using Perl, if I have a string that includes the full path to a file (i.e., it includes both the full path of the directory and the filename), how do I split the string into its directory and filename components?

Answer: Use the basename and dirname methods of the Perl File::Basename module.

The following example shows how to break this string '/Users/al/work/file1.pdf' into its directory and filename components:

I started working on a new Unix system yesterday -- an HP-UX system I've never worked on before -- and I quickly realized that I needed some Perl modules installed. While working with another person the question quickly came up, "How do you know where Perl is looking for currently installed modules?"

AppleScript Finder FAQ: How do I get the full Finder path in an AppleScript script?

Mac Java FAQ: I'm currently using Mac OS/X 10.4 with Java 1.5.x. But, for a certain application I need to use a previous version of Java, which I can see is actually installed on the hard drive. Can I use this older Java JVM on Mac OS X 10.4?

Answer: Yes, I was able to do this. The hardest part about this is finding where the previous Java version is installed. There are probably easier ways to do it, but I ended up using the Mac mdfind command, which is the command-line version of Spotlight.