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(elisp)File Names

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File Names
==========

   Files are generally referred to by their names, in Emacs as
elsewhere.  File names in Emacs are represented as strings.  The
functions that operate on a file all expect a file name argument.

   In addition to operating on files themselves, Emacs Lisp programs
often need to operate on file names; i.e., to take them apart and to use
part of a name to construct related file names.  This section describes
how to manipulate file names.

   The functions in this section do not actually access files, so they
can operate on file names that do not refer to an existing file or
directory.

   On MS-DOS and MS-Windows, these functions (like the function that
actually operate on files) accept MS-DOS or MS-Windows file-name syntax,
where backslashes separate the components, as well as Unix syntax; but
they always return Unix syntax.  On VMS, these functions (and the ones
that operate on files) understand both VMS file-name syntax and Unix
syntax.  This enables Lisp programs to specify file names in Unix syntax
and work properly on all systems without change.

File Name Components

The directory part of a file name, and the rest.

Directory Names

A directory's name as a directory

is different from its name as a file.

Relative File Names

Some file names are relative to a current directory.

File Name Expansion

Converting relative file names to absolute ones.

Unique File Names

Generating names for temporary files.

File Name Completion

Finding the completions for a given file name.

Standard File Names

If your package uses a fixed file name,

how to handle various operating systems simply.