Use the Ruby [`File.dirname`][1] method.

    File.dirname(&quot;C:/Test/blah.txt&quot;)
    # =&gt; &quot;C:/Test&quot; 


  [1]: http://www.ruby-doc.org/core/classes/File.html#M000027


More versatile would be the Ruby Pathname class:

    require &#39;pathname&#39;

    pn = Pathname.new(&quot;C:/Test/blah.txt&quot;)
    p pn.dirname.to_s + Pathname::SEPARATOR_LIST

which gives `C:/Test/`.


&gt; **Possible Duplicate:**  
&gt; [What is the difference between app.config file and XYZ.settings file?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/909688/what-is-the-difference-between-app-config-file-and-xyz-settings-file)  

&lt;!-- End of automatically inserted text --&gt;

I am quite confused by the apparent redundancy of these two mechanisms in Visual Studio to store and manage desktop application settings:

 - You can use the XML `app.config` file, adding items to the `&lt;appSettings&gt;` section. These can be retrieved from code using the `ConfigurationManager` class.
 - Alternatively, you can use the Settings.settings file to add individual settings through an editor. Visual Studio will generate a `Settings` class for type-safe retrieval of settings at run-time.

These two mechanisms seem to serve the same (or nearly the same) purpose. I am aware there are some differences, but I am also puzzled by the overlap and its consequences. For example, when I use Visual Studio to add settings to the `Settings.settings` file, all the information that I put in ends up as entries in the `app.config` file as well. Apparently, a synchronisation mechanism exists: if I change a setting in the `app.config` file, Visual Studio prompts me to update the `Settings.settings` file next time I open it up in the editor.

My questions are:

 - Why two mechanisms and not just one?
 - What are the most common scenarios for using `app.config` over `Settings.settings`, and vice versa?
 - What happens if my app is using `Settings.settings` and I change a value in `app.config` after it&#39;s been deployed? No syncronisation of `Settings.settings` can happen since it&#39;s already been compiled and distributed.

Note. I have searched for questions on this topic, but I am even more confused. For example, answers to [this question here][1] are quite contradictory and do not shed much light.

Note 2. I am aware that `app.config` is a design-time file name, and I am familiar with the dynamics of Visual Studio copying and renaming it to the executable folder.


  [1]: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3371433/storing-application-settings-in-c

Settings.settings vs. app.config in .NET desktop app

Been having my first crack at Core Data and I&#39;m getting the following error when running my code on my device, but it works fine on the simulator..

&gt; 
*** Terminating app due to uncaught exception &#39;NSInvalidArgumentException&#39;, reason: &#39;Cannot create an NSPersistentStoreCoordinator with a nil model&#39;

Some of my methods that might be causing the problem:

        - (NSManagedObjectContext *)managedObjectContext
    {
        if (__managedObjectContext != nil)
        {
            return __managedObjectContext;
        }
        
        NSPersistentStoreCoordinator *coordinator = [self persistentStoreCoordinator];
        if (coordinator != nil)
        {
            __managedObjectContext = [[NSManagedObjectContext alloc] init];
            [__managedObjectContext setPersistentStoreCoordinator:coordinator];
        }
        return __managedObjectContext;
    }
    
    /**
     Returns the managed object model for the application.
     If the model doesn&#39;t already exist, it is created from the application&#39;s model.
     */
    - (NSManagedObjectModel *)managedObjectModel
    {
        if (__managedObjectModel != nil)
        {
            return __managedObjectModel;
        }
        NSURL *modelURL = [[NSBundle mainBundle] URLForResource:@&quot;RugbyOnTv&quot; withExtension:@&quot;momd&quot;];
        __managedObjectModel = [[NSManagedObjectModel alloc] initWithContentsOfURL:modelURL];    
        return __managedObjectModel;
    }
    
    /**
     Returns the persistent store coordinator for the application.
     If the coordinator doesn&#39;t already exist, it is created and the application&#39;s store added to it.
     */
    - (NSPersistentStoreCoordinator *)persistentStoreCoordinator
    {
        if (__persistentStoreCoordinator != nil)
        {
            return __persistentStoreCoordinator;
        }
        
    	NSString *storePath = [[self applicationDocumentsDirectory] stringByAppendingPathComponent: @&quot;RugbyOnTV.sqlite&quot;];
        
        NSURL *storeUrl = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:storePath];
    	
    	NSDictionary *options = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:[NSNumber numberWithBool:YES], NSMigratePersistentStoresAutomaticallyOption, [NSNumber numberWithBool:YES], NSInferMappingModelAutomaticallyOption, nil];	
        __persistentStoreCoordinator = [[NSPersistentStoreCoordinator alloc] initWithManagedObjectModel: [self managedObjectModel]];
        
        NSError *error = nil;
        __persistentStoreCoordinator = [[NSPersistentStoreCoordinator alloc] initWithManagedObjectModel:[self managedObjectModel]];
    
        
    	if (![__persistentStoreCoordinator addPersistentStoreWithType:NSSQLiteStoreType configuration:nil URL:storeUrl options:options error:&amp;error]) {
          
            NSLog(@&quot;Unresolved error %@, %@&quot;, error, [error userInfo]);
            abort();
        }    
        
        return __persistentStoreCoordinator;
    }
    
    
        - (NSString *)applicationDocumentsDirectory {
            
            NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
            NSString *basePath = ([paths count] &gt; 0) ? [paths objectAtIndex:0] : nil;
            return basePath;
        }



**EDIT**

I copied and pasted the managedObjectContext method (below) from Apple&#39;s CoreDataBooks and it now works..Not really sure why though

    - (NSManagedObjectModel *)managedObjectModel {
        if (managedObjectModel != nil) {
            return managedObjectModel;
        }
        managedObjectModel = [[NSManagedObjectModel mergedModelFromBundles:nil] retain];    
        return managedObjectModel;
    }



Cannot create an NSPersistentStoreCoordinator with a nil model

Programming language: Ruby 1.9

Problem String: `C:/Test/blah.txt`  
to `C:/Test/`

I know it&#39;s an easy question, but Google and the Ruby quickref for `File` have no solution for me.  
And I have no experience with Regex.

Ruby, getting path from path+filename

Programming language: Ruby 1.9
Problem String: <code>C:/Test/blah.txt</code> 
to <code>C:/Test/</code>
I know it's an easy question, but Google and the Ruby quickref for <code>File</code> have no solution for me. 
And I have no experience with Regex.

I&#39;m working with Ruby on Rails, Is there a way to strip `html` from a string using sanitize or equal method and keep only text inside value attribute on input tag?

Strip html from string Ruby on Rails

How can I get the current date and time in `DD/MM/YYYY HH:MM` format and also increment the month?


How do I get the current Date/time in DD/MM/YYYY HH:MM format?

I have a hash that looks something like this:

    params = { :irrelevant =&gt; &quot;A String&quot;,
               :choice1 =&gt; &quot;Oh look, another one&quot;,
               :choice2 =&gt; &quot;Even more strings&quot;,
               :choice3 =&gt; &quot;But wait&quot;,
               :irrelevant2 =&gt; &quot;The last string&quot; }

And I want a simple way to reject all the keys that aren&#39;t choice+int. It could be choice1, or choice1 through choice10. It varies.

How do I single out the keys with just the word choice and a digit or digits after them?

Bonus:

Turn the hash into a string with tab (\t) as a delimiter. I did this, but it took several lines of code. Usually master Rubicians can do it in one or so lines.

Ruby: Easiest Way to Filter Hash Keys?

Is it possible to define a `before_save` callback in a module? Such that with a class like this:

    class Model
      include MongoMapper::Document
      include MyModule
    end

and a module like this:

    module MyModule
      before_save :do_something

      def do_something
        #do whatever
      end  
    end 

`do_something` will be called before any `Model` objects are saved? I&#39;ve tried it like this but get `undefined method &#39;before_save&#39; for MyModule:Module`.

Apologies if it&#39;s something simple - I&#39;m new to Ruby and to Rails. 

Is it possible to define a &#39;before_save&#39; callback in a module?

I am needing to stub the response of a `current_user` method in an Rspec/capybara request spec. The method is defined in `ApplicationController` and is using helper_method. The method should simply return a user id. Within the test, I&#39;d like this method to return the same user id each time. 

Alternatively, I could fix my problem by setting `session[:user_id]` in the spec (which is what `current_user` returns)... but that doesn&#39;t seem to work either. 

Are either of these possible?

Edit:

Here is what I&#39;ve got (it is not working. It just runs the normal current_user method).


    require &#39;spec_helper&#39;

    describe &quot;Login&quot; do
  
       before(:each) do
         ApplicationController.stub(:current_user).and_return(User.first)
       end
  
      it &quot;logs in&quot; do
        visit &#39;/&#39;
        page.should have_content(&quot;Hey there user!&quot;)
      end
  
    end


Also not working:

    require &#39;spec_helper&#39;

    describe &quot;Login&quot; do
  
      before(:each) do
        @mock_controller = mock(&quot;ApplicationController&quot;) 
        @mock_controller.stub(:current_user).and_return(User.first)
      end

      it &quot;logs in&quot; do
        visit &#39;/&#39;
        page.should have_content(&quot;Hey there user!&quot;)
      end
  
    end


How to stub ApplicationController method in request spec

I want to write a program that checks for the existence of a directory; if that directory does not exist then it creates the directory and a log file inside of it, but if the directory already exists, then it just creates a new log file in that folder.

How would I do this in C with Linux?

Creating a new directory in C

I am using the following script to read a directory. If there is no file in the directory it should say empty. The problem is, it just keeps saying the directory is empty even though there ARE files inside and vice versa.

```php
&lt;?php
$pid = $_GET[&quot;prodref&quot;];
$dir = &#39;/assets/&#39;.$pid.&#39;/v&#39;;
$q   = (count(glob(&quot;$dir/*&quot;)) === 0) ? &#39;Empty&#39; : &#39;Not empty&#39;;
    
if ($q==&quot;Empty&quot;) 
	echo &quot;the folder is empty&quot;;	
else
	echo &quot;the folder is NOT empty&quot;;
?&gt;
```

How can I use PHP to check if a directory is empty?

I need to delete all empty folders from my application folder using windows command prompt?

How can I create a bat file like that?

Please help me.


How to delete empty folders using windows command prompt?

I have directory that contains nearly 14,000,000 audio samples in *.wav format.

All plain storage, no subdirectories.

I want to loop through the files, but when I use `DirectoryInfo.GetFiles()` on that folder the whole application freezes for minutes!

Can this be done another way? Perhaps read 1000, process them, then take next 1000 and so on?

Retrieving files from directory that contains large amount of files

Using PowerShell, is it possible to remove some directory that contains files without prompting to confirm action?


Content Type	Original Author	Original Content on Stackoverflow
Question	Onetimeposter123	View Question on Stackoverflow
Solution 1 - Ruby	Simone Carletti	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 2 - Ruby	Twonky	View Answer on Stackoverflow

Ruby, getting path from path+filename

Ruby Problem Overview

Ruby Solutions

Solution 1 - Ruby

Solution 2 - Ruby

Cannot create an NSPersistentStoreCoordinator with a nil model

Settings.settings vs. app.config in .NET desktop app

Attributions