def METHOD_NAME(path, as_dir=False):
    path = normalize_path(path)
    if not os.path.exists(path):
        dirname, basename = (path, '') if as_dir else os.path.split(path)
        if not os.path.exists(dirname):
            os.makedirs(dirname, exist_ok=True)
        if basename:
            open(path, 'a').close()
    os.utime(path, times=None)
    return path