Join file paths with the OS path separator

Summary

The path macro joins one or more lists of file paths using the operating system’s path separator (: on Unix, ; on Windows). This is useful for creating classpaths and other path lists.

Syntax 

${path;<list>[;<list>...]}

Parameters

  • list - One or more semicolon-separated lists of file paths

Behavior

  • Combines all provided lists
  • Joins paths using the OS-specific path separator
    • Unix/Linux/Mac: : (colon)
    • Windows: ; (semicolon)
  • Returns a platform-appropriate path list string

Examples

Create a classpath on Unix:

${path;lib/a.jar,lib/b.jar,lib/c.jar}
# Returns: "lib/a.jar:lib/b.jar:lib/c.jar"

Create a classpath on Windows:

${path;lib/a.jar,lib/b.jar,lib/c.jar}
# Returns: "lib/a.jar;lib/b.jar;lib/c.jar"

Combine multiple path lists:

${path;${buildpath};${testpath}}
# Joins both lists with OS separator

Build Java classpath:

-classpath=${path;${lsr;lib;*.jar}}

Use Cases

  • Creating Java classpaths
  • Building PATH environment variables
  • Generating OS-specific path lists
  • Combining multiple path sources
  • Creating portable path specifications
  • Tool invocation with path arguments

Notes

  • Uses the OS-native path separator automatically
  • Unix/Mac uses colon :, Windows uses semicolon ;
  • Input lists use comma or semicolon separation
  • Output uses the OS path separator
  • See also: ${pathseparator} to get the separator itself
  • See also: ${osfile} for OS-specific file paths
  • See also: ${join} for comma-separated joining

See test cases in MacroTestsForDocsExamples.java