PathHelper.java

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package org.feistymeow.filesystem;
 
import java.net.URLDecoder;
 
import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
 
/*
 * Provides access to the relevant paths for a Java application.
 * This class cannot provide static members due to runtime constraints.
 * 
 * @author Chris Koeritz
 */
public class PathHelper {
    private static Log c_logger = LogFactory.getLog(PathHelper.class);
    
  // locates the home directory where *this* application is installed.
  // this can be used as a root path for finding configuration files
  // needed by the application.
  public String findHome() {
    String path = ".";
    try {
      path = URLDecoder.decode(getClass().getProtectionDomain().getCodeSource().getLocation().getPath(), "x-www-form-urlencoded");
      // we remove the leading slash that is sometimes present, but only if the path looks.
      // like a dos path.
      if ( (path.length() >=3) && (path.charAt(0) == '/') && (path.charAt(2) == ':') )
        path = path.substring(1);
      // we chop the last component off, because we want an actual path.
      int lastSlash = path.lastIndexOf('/');
      path = path.substring(0, lastSlash);
    } catch (Exception ex) {
      c_logger.error("caught exception during path calculation: " + ex.toString());
      // unknown what we should say here, so we return the default.
    }
    return path;
  }       
};