What is the os.lchflags() method in Python?
Overview
The os.lchflags() method is used to set the flag of the path to the numeric flags. It does not follow symbolic links, unlike chflags(). We have listed some path flags that can be used according to our needs. For instance, when UF_NODUMP is set, it will delete or dump the specified file. Similarly, when UF_IMMUTABLE is set, it allows a file in read-only mode.
Path flags
Flag | Description |
UF_NODUMP | Do not dump the mentioned file. |
UF_IMMUTABLE | Read only, file may not be changed. |
UF_APPEND | File may only be appended to. |
UF_NOUNLINK | File cannot be deleted or renamed. |
UF_OPAQUE | Opaque Directory, when viewed through the union stack. |
SF_ARCHIVED(Super User allowed) | File may only be archived. |
SF_IMMUTABLE | File may not be changed. |
SF_APPEND | File may only be appended to. |
SF_NOUNLINK | File may not be deleted or renamed. |
SF_SNAPSHOT | File is a snapshot file. |
Syntax
os.lchflags(path, flags)
Parameters
It takes the following argument values.
path: This is an object that represents a valid system path.flags: Flag types are listed in the table above.
Return value
It does not return any value.
Explanation
In the following code snippet, we are going to discuss the os.lchflags() method in detail.
# importing OS and SYS modules# in current programimport os,stat# Pathpath = "employee.csv"fd = os.open(path, os.O_CREAT | os.O_RDWR)# Taking os.UF_NODUMP as flag value#flag = os.UF_IMMUTABLE# Close opened fileos.close(fd)# invoking lchflags() functionos.lchflags(path, stat.UF_IMMUTABLE)print("Flag Changed Successfully!")
- Line 5: We assign a file name
"employee.csv"to a path variable. - Line 6: We invoke the
open()method from theosmodule to open the above mentioned file in the read and write mode(os.O_RDWR). We create this if it does not exist in the module. - Line 12: We call the
lchflags()function to change the path flags of the above-loaded file.