Unify path helpers in _compat module

- Move PathT type alias from _types.py to _compat.py
- Move norm_real() function from _file_finders/_pathtools.py to _compat.py
- Update all file finder imports to use _compat directly
- Delete _file_finders/_pathtools.py (no longer needed)
- Update _types.py to re-export PathT for backward compatibility

This consolidates all path-related compatibility utilities in a single
location, eliminating unnecessary module indirection and making the
codebase more maintainable.

Author: RonnyPfannschmidt

vcs-versioning/src/vcs_versioning/_compat.py

@@ -2,6 +2,12 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import os
+from typing import TypeAlias
+
+# Path type for accepting both strings and PathLike objects
+PathT: TypeAlias = os.PathLike[str] | str
+
 
 def normalize_path_for_assertion(path: str) -> str:
     """Normalize path separators for cross-platform assertions.
@@ -63,3 +69,23 @@ def assert_path_endswith(
 def compute_path_prefix(full_path: str, suffix_path: str) -> str:
     """Legacy alias - use strip_path_suffix instead."""
     return strip_path_suffix(full_path, suffix_path)
+
+
+def norm_real(path: PathT) -> str:
+    """Normalize and resolve a path (combining normcase and realpath).
+
+    This combines os.path.normcase() and os.path.realpath() to produce
+    a canonical path string that is normalized for the platform and has
+    all symbolic links resolved.
+
+    Args:
+        path: The path to normalize and resolve
+
+    Returns:
+        The normalized, resolved absolute path
+
+    Examples:
+        >>> norm_real("/path/to/../to/file.txt")  # doctest: +SKIP
+        '/path/to/file.txt'
+    """
+    return os.path.normcase(os.path.realpath(path))

vcs-versioning/src/vcs_versioning/_file_finders/__init__.py

@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
 from typing import TypeGuard
 
 from .. import _types as _t
+from .._compat import norm_real
 from .._entrypoints import entry_points
-from ._pathtools import norm_real
 
 log = logging.getLogger("vcs_versioning.file_finder")
 

vcs-versioning/src/vcs_versioning/_file_finders/_git.py

@@ -7,11 +7,10 @@
 from typing import IO
 
 from .. import _types as _t
-from .._compat import strip_path_suffix
+from .._compat import norm_real, strip_path_suffix
 from .._integration import data_from_mime
 from .._run_cmd import run as _run
 from . import is_toplevel_acceptable, scm_find_files
-from ._pathtools import norm_real
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 

vcs-versioning/src/vcs_versioning/_file_finders/_hg.py

@@ -6,9 +6,9 @@
 
 from .. import _types as _t
 from .._backends._hg import run_hg
+from .._compat import norm_real
 from .._integration import data_from_mime
 from . import is_toplevel_acceptable, scm_find_files
-from ._pathtools import norm_real
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 

vcs-versioning/src/vcs_versioning/_file_finders/_pathtools.py

@@ -1,13 +1,22 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-import os
 from collections.abc import Callable, Sequence
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, TypeAlias
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from . import _version_schemes as version
 
-PathT: TypeAlias = os.PathLike[str] | str
+# Re-export from _compat for backward compatibility
+from ._compat import PathT as PathT  # noqa: PLC0414
+
+__all__ = [
+    "PathT",
+    "CMD_TYPE",
+    "VERSION_SCHEME",
+    "VERSION_SCHEMES",
+    "SCMVERSION",
+    "GIT_PRE_PARSE",
+]
 
 CMD_TYPE: TypeAlias = Sequence[PathT] | str