code: def getdir(self, section, option, raw=False, vars=None, fallback="", validate=False):
          
          v = self.get(section, option, raw=raw, vars=vars, fallback=fallback)
          v = self._convert_to_path(v)
          return v if not validate or os.path.isdir(v) else fallback
docs: A convenience method which coerces the option in the specified section to a directory.