vercel-labs--zerolang/docs/articles/modules/path.md

When To Use std.path

In Zerolang, use std.path for lexical path operations that borrow from input paths or write into caller-owned buffers.

Runnable today:

API	Return	Notes
std.path.basename(path)	String	Borrows the final lexical component of path.
std.path.dirname(path)	String	Borrows or returns the lexical parent portion of path.
std.path.extension(path)	String	Borrows the suffix after the last . in the final component.
std.path.stem(path)	String	Borrows the final component without its extension.
std.path.splitDir(path)	String	Borrows the directory side of the final split.
std.path.splitBase(path)	String	Borrows the basename side of the final split.
std.path.isAbs(path)	Bool	Returns true for paths that begin with a path separator.
std.path.componentCount(path)	usize	Counts non-empty lexical path components.
std.path.component(path, index)	Maybe<String>	Borrows one non-empty lexical component by index.
std.path.abs(buffer, base, target)	Maybe<String>	Copies target when already absolute, or joins base and target into caller storage.
std.path.join(buffer, left, right)	Maybe<String>	Joins two path fragments into caller-provided fixed buffer storage.
std.path.normalize(buffer, path)	Maybe<String>	Collapses repeated /, ., and lexical .. segments into caller-provided storage.
std.path.relative(buffer, base, target)	Maybe<String>	Produces a target-relative lexical path when possible, or copies target.

Current scope:

• Helpers are target-neutral lexical operations over / and \ separators.
• Buffer-writing helpers return null when caller storage is too small.
• The module does not implement platform-specific path rules, drive prefixes, or filesystem access.

Example

pub fn main(world: World) -> Void raises {
    var storage: [64]u8 = [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]
    let path: Maybe<String> = std.path.join(storage, ".zero", "example.txt")
    if path.has {
        check world.out.write(path.value)
        check world.out.write("\n")
    }
}

Design Notes

std.path.basename, dirname, extension, stem, splitDir, splitBase, and component return borrowed views into the input path. std.path.abs, join, normalize, and relative write into caller storage and return null when the buffer is too small. They do not allocate.

The current behavior uses / as the portable package/example separator. These helpers are lexical string helpers, not target-specific filesystem resolvers.