# basename

The `basename` statement is used to extract the filename portion of a path + filename string

## Syntax

**`basename`***`varName`* 

**`basename`***`string`***`as`***`varName`*

## Details

Given a string describing the full path of a file, such as */extracted/test/mydata.csv* the `basename` statement is used to identify the filename (including the file extension, if any) portion of that string only. If there are no path delimiters in the string then the original string is returned.

The `basename` statement supports both UNIX-style (forward slash) and Windows-style (backslash) delimiters.

{% hint style="warning" %}
When invoked as `basename varName`, the *varName* parameter must be the **name** of the variable containing the string to analyse. The value of the variable will be updated with the result so care should be taken to copy the original value to a new variable beforehand if the full path may be required later in the script.
{% endhint %}

As a convenience in cases where the full path needs to be retained, the result of the operation can be placed into a separate variable by using the form `basename string as varName` where *string* is the value containing the full path + filename and *varName* is the name of the variable to set as the result.

{% hint style="info" %}
When invoked using `basename string as varName` if a variable called *varName* does not exist then it will be created, else its value will be updated.
{% endhint %}

## Examples

#### Example 1

The following script ...

```
var path = "extracted/test/testdata.csv"

# Copy the path as we'll need it later
var file = ${path}

# Note: use the NAME of the variable not the value
basename file

# The variable called 'file' now contains the result
print The basename of the path '${path}' is '${file}'

var path = "testdata.csv"
var file = ${path}
basename file

print The basename of the path '${path}' is '${file}'
```

... will produce the following output:

```
The basename of the path 'extracted/test/testdata.csv' is 'testdata.csv'
The basename of the path 'testdata.csv' is 'testdata.csv'
```

#### Example 2

The following script ...

```
var path = "extracted/test/testdata.csv"
basename ${path} as file
print The basename of the path '${path}' is '${file}'
```

... will produce the following output:

```
The basename of the path 'extracted/test/testdata.csv' is 'testdata.csv'
```