trouble using "\" as a string

[OriginalBrownster]

Hi there...

I'm still pretty new to turbogears. but i have gotten pretty familiar
with it

i'm just trying to clear something up, i'm having a difficult time
using \ when declaring a string expression

such as tempname="\"..it says that the line is single qouted.

i want this because using python I am pulling in filenames from a
mac..thus they are "/" in the pathways..and i want to .split it at the
"/" to obtain the filename at the end...but its proving diffucult with
this obstacle in the way.

Why is this happening??

[Jim]

Try using: tempname = "\\"
Jim
OriginalBrownster wrote:

Hi there...

I'm still pretty new to turbogears. but i have gotten pretty familiar
with it

i'm just trying to clear something up, i'm having a difficult time
using \ when declaring a string expression

such as tempname="\"..it says that the line is single qouted.

i want this because using python I am pulling in filenames from a
mac..thus they are "/" in the pathways..and i want to .split it at the
"/" to obtain the filename at the end...but its proving diffucult with
this obstacle in the way.

Why is this happening??

[OriginalBrownster]

that stores tempname as "\\"

...
Jim wrote:

Try using: tempname = "\\"
Jim
OriginalBrownster wrote:

Hi there...

I'm still pretty new to turbogears. but i have gotten pretty familiar
with it

i'm just trying to clear something up, i'm having a difficult time
using \ when declaring a string expression

such as tempname="\"..it says that the line is single qouted.

i want this because using python I am pulling in filenames from a
mac..thus they are "/" in the pathways..and i want to .split it at the
"/" to obtain the filename at the end...but its proving diffucult with
this obstacle in the way.

Why is this happening??

[OKB (not okblacke)]

OriginalBrownster wrote:
[I un-bottom-posted this]

Jim wrote:

>Try using: tempname = "\\"
Jim

that stores tempname as "\\"

..

I don't think so. I think you just think it's storing it as that
because if you enter it at the interactive prompt it shows '\\'. But
try len(tempname) and see if it's 1.

--
--OKB (not okblacke)
Brendan Barnwell
"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is
no path, and leave a trail."
--author unknown

[Dan Bishop]

OriginalBrownster wrote:

Hi there...

I'm still pretty new to turbogears. but i have gotten pretty familiar
with it

i'm just trying to clear something up, i'm having a difficult time
using \ when declaring a string expression

such as tempname="\"..it says that the line is single qouted.

i want this because using python I am pulling in filenames from a
mac..thus they are "/" in the pathways..and i want to .split it at the
"/" to obtain the filename at the end...but its proving diffucult with
this obstacle in the way.

Why is this happening??

In Python (and many other programming languages), the backslash is the
"escape character". That is, special characters are indicated by
sequences that start with a backslash.

>>print 'Line 1\nLine 2' # \n = newline

Line 1
Line 2

>>print 'tab\tseparated\ttext' # \t = tab

tab separated text

>>print 'This parrot is dead\b\b\b\balive!' # \b = backspace

This parrot is alive!

>>print 'The ASCII code for \x41 is 0x41.'

The ASCII code for A is 0x41.

>>'It\'s necessary to escape a quote that\'s within the same type of quote.'

"It's necessary to escape a quote that's within the same type of
quote."

An escape sequence is always considered a single character. (As
mentioned earlier, you can verify this with the len function.) Thus,
your "\" gets parsed as:

" = opening quote of string
\" = double quotation mark (escaped)
end of line = error, because no closing quote was found

If you want a backslash, you have to escape *it* with a backslash: "\\"

[Justin Azoff]

OriginalBrownster wrote:

i want this because using python I am pulling in filenames from a
mac..thus they are "/" in the pathways..and i want to .split it at the
"/" to obtain the filename at the end...but its proving diffucult with
this obstacle in the way.

sounds like you want
import posixpath
posixpath.basename(path)

assuming you are on a windows box,otherwise the normal os.path.basename
will do it.

--
- Justin

[Ant]

such as tempname="\"..it says that the line is single qouted.

The others have addressed the escape issue I think. However it looks
like you want the funtionality of the os.path module. For example:

>>import os.path as path
filename = "/home/ant/test.sh"
filename2 = r"c:\python24\scripts\test.py"
path.split(filename)

('/home/ant', 'test.sh')

>>path.split(filename2)

('c:\\python24\\scripts', 'test.py')