Python Change Directory Google App Engine
Question: I have my webapp written in Python running on Google App Engine; so far only
testing in my localhost. My script needs to read text files located in various
directories. So in my Python script I would simply use
os.chdir("./"+subdirectory_name) and then start opening and reading the files
and using the text for analysis. However I cannot do that when trying to move
it over to App Engine.

I assume I need to make some sort of changes to app.yaml but I'm stuck after
that. Can anyone walk me through this somewhat thoroughly?

From the answer below, I was able to fix this part, I have a followup question
about the app.yaml structure though. I have my folder set up like the
following, and I'm wondering what I need to put in my app.yaml file to make it
work when I deploy the project (it works perfectly on localhost right now).

Main_Folder:

  * python_my_app.py 
  * app.yaml 
  * text_file1 
  * text_file2 
  * text_file3 
  * subfolder1_with_10_text_files_inside 
  * subfolder2_with_10_text_files_inside 
  * subfolder3_with_10_text_files_inside 

...how do I specify this structure in my app.yaml and do I need to change
anything in my code if it works right now on localhost?


Answer: You don't _need_ to change your working directory at all to read files. Use
absolute paths instead.

Use the current file location as the starting point, and resolve all relative
paths from there:

    
    
    import os.path
    
    HERE = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
    
    somefile = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(HERE, 'subfolder1_with_10_text_files_inside /somefile.txt'))
    

If you want to be able to read _static_ files, do remember to set the
`application_readable` flag on these, as Google will otherwise only upload
them to their content delivery network, not to the app engine.

