scratchdir

Context manager to maintain your temporary directories/files.

Installation

To install scratchdir from pip:

    $ pip install scratchdir

To install scratchdir from source:

    $ git clone [email protected]:ahawker/scratchdir.git
    $ python setup.py install

Usage

Creating a new ScratchDir is simple. Just instantiate a new instance and call setup:

⇒  cat examples/readme/setup.py
import scratchdir

sd = scratchdir.ScratchDir()
sd.setup()
print(sd.wd)
sd.teardown()

⇒  python examples/readme/usage-1.py
/var/folders/86/zhtx1pv53qs2mm1fq1k1841w0000gn/T/3e56r54m.scratchdir

Or as a context manager using the with statement:

⇒  cat examples/readme/context-manager.py
import scratchdir

with scratchdir.ScratchDir() as sd:
    print(sd.wd)

⇒  python examples/readme/context-manager.py
/var/folders/86/zhtx1pv53qs2mm1fq1k1841w0000gn/T/_ibfhq1s.scratchdir

Files created by the ScratchDir are automatically cleaned up on teardown:

⇒  cat examples/readme/cleanup.py
import os
import scratchdir

path = None

with scratchdir.ScratchDir() as sd:
    tmp = sd.named(delete=False)
    path = tmp.name
    print('Path {} exists? {}'.format(path, os.path.exists(path)))

print('Path {} exists? {}'.format(path, os.path.exists(path)))

⇒  python examples/readme/cleanup.py
Path /var/folders/86/zhtx1pv53qs2mm1fq1k1841w0000gn/T/y1aedyk8.scratchdir/tmp7m79rev1 exists? True
Path /var/folders/86/zhtx1pv53qs2mm1fq1k1841w0000gn/T/y1aedyk8.scratchdir/tmp7m79rev1 exists? False

Directories within the ScratchDir are also easy to create:

⇒  cat examples/readme/directory.py
import scratchdir

with scratchdir.ScratchDir() as sd:
    subdir = sd.directory()
    print(subdir)

⇒  python examples/readme/directory.py
/var/folders/86/zhtx1pv53qs2mm1fq1k1841w0000gn/T/c1odkxbw.scratchdir/tmpcyeqjk1v

Methods on the ScratchDir instance will pass arguments down to their corresponding functions in tempfile.

⇒  cat examples/readme/params.py
import scratchdir

with scratchdir.ScratchDir() as sd:
    tmp = sd.named(suffix='.txt', prefix='logfile-', delete=False)
    print(tmp.name)

⇒  python examples/readme/params.py
/var/folders/86/zhtx1pv53qs2mm1fq1k1841w0000gn/T/1h_7379t.scratchdir/logfile-z1gq195q.txt

Creating a hierarchy of ScratchDir instances to match that of your domain objects is also simple:

⇒  cat examples/readme/hierarchy.py
import scratchdir

with scratchdir.ScratchDir(prefix='grandparent-') as grandparent:
    print(grandparent.wd)
    with grandparent.child(prefix='parent-') as parent:
        print(parent.wd)
        with parent.child(prefix='child-') as child:
            print(child.wd)

⇒  python examples/readme/hierarchy.py
/var/folders/86/zhtx1pv53qs2mm1fq1k1841w0000gn/T/grandparent-4ld_pl8f.scratchdir
/var/folders/86/zhtx1pv53qs2mm1fq1k1841w0000gn/T/grandparent-4ld_pl8f.scratchdir/parent-s6y_gmxg.scratchdir
/var/folders/86/zhtx1pv53qs2mm1fq1k1841w0000gn/T/grandparent-4ld_pl8f.scratchdir/parent-s6y_gmxg.scratchdir/child-28k2hpdk.scratchdir

Methods

The ScratchDir instance maintains a set of bound methods are map to functions/classes within the tempfile module in the standard library. A table of methods is as follows:

scratchdir	tempfile	description
file, TemporaryFile	TemporaryFile	Create a nameless temporary file that is automatically deleted once it's closed.
named, NamedTemporaryFile	NamedTemporaryFile	Create a temporary file that receives a filename on disk that is automatically deleted once it's closed unless the delete parameter is False.
spooled, SpooledTemporaryFile	SpooledTemporaryFile	Create a temporary file that will overflow from memory onto disk once a defined maximum size is exceeded.
secure, mkstemp	mkstemp	Create a temporary file in as secure way as possible.
directory, mkdtemp	mkdtemp	Create a temporary directory.
filename	N/A	Create a unique filename within the ScratchDir.
join	N/A	Join a number of paths to the root of the ScratchDir.

Goals

I've implemented similar functionality three times now, starting with my scatter project back in 2013-2014. I'd rather not write it again, so the goal is that scratchdir should be generic and reusable for future projects.

Contributing

If you would like to contribute, simply fork the repository, push your changes and send a pull request.

License

Scratchdir is avaialble under the Apache 2.0 license.