build_tools.syllable_analysis.common.output

Output file and directory management for analysis tools.

This module provides utilities for managing output files and directories, including automatic directory creation, timestamped filename generation, and paired output file management (e.g., data + metadata).

Key Features

Automatic output directory creation
Timestamped filename generation (YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS format)
Paired output file generation (matching timestamps)
Consistent naming conventions across all analysis tools

Usage

Ensure output directory exists:

from build_tools.syllable_analysis.common import ensure_output_dir
from pathlib import Path

output_dir = ensure_output_dir(Path("_working/analysis/tsne/"))

Generate timestamped output path:

from build_tools.syllable_analysis.common import generate_timestamped_path

viz_path = generate_timestamped_path(
    output_dir=Path("_working/analysis/tsne/"),
    suffix="tsne_visualization",
    extension="png"
)
# Returns: _working/analysis/tsne/20260107_143022.tsne_visualization.png

Generate paired output paths:

from build_tools.syllable_analysis.common import generate_output_pair

viz_path, meta_path = generate_output_pair(
    output_dir=Path("_working/analysis/tsne/"),
    primary_suffix="tsne_visualization",
    metadata_suffix="tsne_metadata",
    primary_ext="png",
    metadata_ext="txt"
)
# Returns matching timestamps:
# - _working/analysis/tsne/20260107_143022.tsne_visualization.png
# - _working/analysis/tsne/20260107_143022.tsne_metadata.txt

Module Contents

ensure_output_dir(): Create output directory if it doesn’t exist
generate_timestamped_path(): Generate single timestamped output path
generate_output_pair(): Generate pair of timestamped output paths

Functions

`ensure_output_dir`(output_dir)	Ensure output directory exists, creating it if necessary.
`generate_timestamped_path`(output_dir, suffix[, ...])	Generate timestamped output file path.
`generate_output_pair`(output_dir, primary_suffix, ...)	Generate matching pair of timestamped output paths.

Module Contents

build_tools.syllable_analysis.common.output.ensure_output_dir(output_dir)[source]

Ensure output directory exists, creating it if necessary.

This function creates the specified directory and all parent directories if they don’t already exist. It is idempotent - calling it multiple times with the same path is safe and has no side effects.

Parameters

output_dirPath: Directory path to ensure exists

Returns

Path: The same path that was passed in (for chaining)

Examples

Basic usage:

>>> from pathlib import Path
>>> output_dir = ensure_output_dir(Path("_working/analysis/tsne/"))
>>> output_dir.exists()
True

Create nested directories:

>>> nested = ensure_output_dir(Path("_working/new/nested/dirs/"))
>>> nested.exists()
True

Idempotent operation:

>>> dir1 = ensure_output_dir(Path("_working/test/"))
>>> dir2 = ensure_output_dir(Path("_working/test/"))
>>> dir1 == dir2
True

Chaining:

>>> output_file = ensure_output_dir(Path("_working/analysis/")) / "output.json"

Notes

This function uses Path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True) which: - Creates all parent directories as needed (like mkdir -p) - Does not raise an error if the directory already exists - Raises PermissionError if insufficient permissions - Raises OSError for other filesystem errors

The function returns the input path unchanged, which allows for convenient chaining in expressions.

build_tools.syllable_analysis.common.output.generate_timestamped_path(output_dir, suffix, extension='txt', timestamp=None)[source]

Generate timestamped output file path.

This function creates a path with format: {output_dir}/{timestamp}.{suffix}.{extension}

The timestamp format is YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS (e.g., 20260107_143022), which provides: - Chronological sorting - Uniqueness (assuming not more than one file per second) - Human readability - No special characters that could cause path issues

Parameters

output_dirPath: Output directory (should exist or be created first)
suffixstr: File suffix describing content (e.g., ‘tsne_visualization’, ‘metadata’)
extensionstr, default=’txt’: File extension without leading dot (e.g., ‘txt’, ‘json’, ‘png’)
timestampstr, optional: Specific timestamp string (format: YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS). If None (default), uses current time via datetime.now()

Returns

Path: Timestamped output file path

Examples

Basic usage (auto-generated timestamp):

>>> from pathlib import Path
>>> path = generate_timestamped_path(
...     output_dir=Path("_working/analysis/tsne/"),
...     suffix="tsne_visualization",
...     extension="png"
... )
>>> path.name
'20260107_143022.tsne_visualization.png'

Custom extension:

>>> path = generate_timestamped_path(
...     output_dir=Path("_working/"),
...     suffix="results",
...     extension="json"
... )
>>> path.suffix
'.json'

Explicit timestamp (for reproducibility or paired files):

>>> path = generate_timestamped_path(
...     output_dir=Path("_working/"),
...     suffix="output",
...     timestamp="20260107_120000"
... )
>>> "20260107_120000" in str(path)
True

Notes

File Naming Convention:

{YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS}.{suffix}.{extension}

Examples: - 20260107_143022.tsne_visualization.png - 20260107_143022.tsne_metadata.txt - 20260107_143022.feature_signatures.txt

The directory is NOT created by this function - use ensure_output_dir() first if the directory might not exist.

Timestamp Format: - YYYY: 4-digit year - MM: 2-digit month (01-12) - DD: 2-digit day (01-31) - HH: 2-digit hour (00-23) - MM: 2-digit minute (00-59) - SS: 2-digit second (00-59)

build_tools.syllable_analysis.common.output.generate_output_pair(output_dir, primary_suffix, metadata_suffix, primary_ext='txt', metadata_ext='txt')[source]

Generate matching pair of timestamped output paths.

This function is useful for tools that generate both primary output and accompanying metadata files. It ensures both files use the same timestamp, making it easy to associate files and maintain chronological ordering.

Parameters

output_dirPath: Output directory (should exist or be created first)
primary_suffixstr: Suffix for primary output file (e.g., ‘tsne_visualization’)
metadata_suffixstr: Suffix for metadata file (e.g., ‘tsne_metadata’)
primary_extstr, default=’txt’: File extension for primary file (e.g., ‘png’, ‘json’, ‘html’)
metadata_extstr, default=’txt’: File extension for metadata file (typically ‘txt’ or ‘json’)

Returns

Tuple[Path, Path]: Tuple of (primary_path, metadata_path) with matching timestamps

Examples

Generate visualization and metadata pair:

>>> from pathlib import Path
>>> viz_path, meta_path = generate_output_pair(
...     output_dir=Path("_working/analysis/tsne/"),
...     primary_suffix="tsne_visualization",
...     metadata_suffix="tsne_metadata",
...     primary_ext="png",
...     metadata_ext="txt"
... )
>>> viz_path.name
'20260107_143022.tsne_visualization.png'
>>> meta_path.name
'20260107_143022.tsne_metadata.txt'

Generate data and metadata pair:

>>> data_path, meta_path = generate_output_pair(
...     output_dir=Path("_working/results/"),
...     primary_suffix="analysis_results",
...     metadata_suffix="analysis_meta",
...     primary_ext="json",
...     metadata_ext="json"
... )

Verify timestamp matching:

>>> viz_path, meta_path = generate_output_pair(
...     output_dir=Path("_working/"),
...     primary_suffix="primary",
...     metadata_suffix="metadata"
... )
>>> viz_path.stem.split('.')[0] == meta_path.stem.split('.')[0]
True  # Same timestamp

Notes

Output Format:

Primary:  {output_dir}/{timestamp}.{primary_suffix}.{primary_ext}
Metadata: {output_dir}/{timestamp}.{metadata_suffix}.{metadata_ext}

Examples: - Primary: _working/analysis/tsne/20260107_143022.tsne_visualization.png - Metadata: _working/analysis/tsne/20260107_143022.tsne_metadata.txt

The timestamp is generated once and used for both files, ensuring they are always associated and sort together in directory listings.

The directory is NOT created by this function - use ensure_output_dir() first if the directory might not exist.

Use Cases: - t-SNE visualizer: PNG + metadata TXT - Feature analysis: results JSON + metadata TXT - Interactive plots: HTML + metadata JSON