What's the difference between "./" and "../"?

Question

What does ./ mean? I assume that it is used to search a path, but I am not sure if that is true. I know that, for example, in C# if I want to search a path I can use ../../file.exe.

Currently what I want is to run a command in node.js from my application in NW.js with the following code:

var exec = require('child_process').exec;

exec('node ./server.js', function(error, stdout, stderr) {
    console.log('stdout: ', stdout);
    console.log('stderr: ', stderr);

    if (error !== null) {
        console.log('exec error: ', error);
    }
});

However, the code above does not produce the desired results. I believe it is because I don't know how to search the path of server.js that I want to run.

`./` is the current directory, `../` is the parent of the current directory. — Jonny Henly, May 26 '16 at 16:59
I thought someone would have closed this question as a duplicate, this question has been asked quite often, but I was wrong. @JonathanSoifer — Jonny Henly, May 26 '16 at 19:07

score 6 · Accepted Answer · edited May 26 '16 at 19:30

6

I'm assuming you're using some form of *NIX.

./ is your current directory. So, for example, using cd ./examplefolder is perfectly valid.

../ is the parent directory. So, for example, you can use cd ../ to go up a level in the directory hierarchy.

~ is your home directory. So, if you're at ~/example/example2/example3, you can use cd ~/ to return to home quickly.

If you're using nodejs, simply using the command node yourfilehere.js will execute it, if your current directory is the one you're launching the file from. Using node ../yourfilehere.js works just as well... but then again, so does cd ../ and node yourfilehere.js.

edited May 26 '16 at 19:30

Jonny Henly

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answered May 26 '16 at 17:34

orlando marinella

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Is it alright if I update the wording of the last section in your answer? It's somewhat misleading. – Jonny Henly May 26 '16 at 19:34
Yeah, go ahead. Belatedly. – orlando marinella May 27 '16 at 12:39

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered May 26 '16 at 17:37

2

In terms of node.js, I'll go into a little bit more detail than the commenter.

./ means that you should execute a file in the current directory. To see the current directory and if you're on unix, type pwd. ../ will mean execute a file in the "previous" directory. In graph theory this would mean the parent node.

If you don't specify a path to the executable, then the system will look in the PATH

answered May 26 '16 at 17:37

Ryan

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I know this is true for Linux commands and scripts executed directly. But is it really also true for the argument passed to node? – Alex May 26 '16 at 20:00

What's the difference between "./" and "../"?

2 Answers2