lab.md

Practice Lab: Build a Command Line tool to list files in a directory

In this practice lab, you will build a command line tool that lists files in a directory. The tool will take a directory path as an argument and list all the files in the directory. If no argument is provided, the tool will list files in the current directory.

Learning Objectives

• Create a command line tool using Python
• Use pure Python to list files in a directory
• Use a framework like Click to create a command line tool

Steps:

For an easy setup with all dependencies installed and a pre-configured virtualenv, open the repository with Codespaces

Alternate setup: Create a new repository in your account for your Python project. Use the Python template repository to quickly generate one for your own account. Use this link to create it in one step.

1. Use the Click framework to handle arguments and options. Refer to the framework example in this repository as a guide

2. Use the os.listdir() module to list files in a directory:

   import os
   
   def list_files(path):
       return os.listdir(path)

Bonus challenge: Add options to your tool so that it can list files in a directory recursively, and/or filter files by extension.

Concepts Covered:

• Building a command line tool in Python
• Using a framework like Click to create a command line tool
• Using pure Python to list files in a directory

By completing this lab, you have demonstrated that you can create a command line tool using Python. You can use this tool to list files in a directory, and you can extend it to add more functionality.