(coreutils.info.gz) dirname invocation

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(coreutils.info.gz) basename invocation

(coreutils.info.gz) File name manipulation

(coreutils.info.gz) pathchk invocation

 
 18.2 'dirname': Strip last file name component
 ==============================================
 
 'dirname' prints all but the final slash-delimited component of each
 NAME.  Slashes on either side of the final component are also removed.
 If the string contains no slash, 'dirname' prints '.' (meaning the
 current directory).  Synopsis:
 
      dirname [OPTION] NAME...
 
    NAME need not be a file name, but if it is, this operation
 effectively lists the directory that contains the final component,
 including the case when the final component is itself a directory.
 
    Together, 'basename' and 'dirname' are designed such that if 'ls
 "$name"' succeeds, then the command sequence 'cd "$(dirname "$name")";
 ls "$(basename "$name")"' will, too.  This works for everything except
 file names containing a trailing newline.
 
    POSIX allows the implementation to define the results if NAME is
 '//'.  With GNU 'dirname', the result is '//' on platforms where // is
 distinct from /, and '/' on platforms where there is no difference.
 
    The program accepts the following option.  Also see  Common
 options.
 
 '-z'
 '--zero'
      Separate output items with NUL characters.
 
    An exit status of zero indicates success, and a nonzero value
 indicates failure.
 
    Examples:
 
      # Output "/usr/bin".
      dirname /usr/bin/sort
      dirname /usr/bin//.//
 
      # Output "dir1" followed by "dir2"
      dirname dir1/str dir2/str
 
      # Output ".".
      dirname stdio.h
 

Info Catalog

(coreutils.info.gz) basename invocation

(coreutils.info.gz) File name manipulation

(coreutils.info.gz) pathchk invocation