differences between get_directory_client and get_subdirectory_client for azure file share - azure-files

Question

Azure file share Python SDKs have two similar methods get_directory_client and get_subdirectory_client. It seems both are interacting with directories. But do we need two methods to perform the same task?

Answer 1

get_directory_client is to get the root directory, and get_subdirectory_client is to get the subdirectories of the current directory.
As you can see from the document, you must get the ShareClient object first. At this time, you can only call get_directory_client to get the root directory, and then you will get the ShareDirectoryClient object. At this time, if you want to get the subdirectory , You can only call the get_subdirectory_client method.
You can also refer to the description of the file share client to understand the difference:
==========================update======================
connection_string = "<your-connection-string>"
service = ShareServiceClient.from_connection_string(conn_str=connection_string)
share = service.get_share_client("<your-file-share-name>")
my_files = []
for item in share.list_directories_and_files():
my_files.append(item)
if item["is_directory"]:
for item2 in share.get_directory_client(item["name"]).list_directories_and_files():
my_files.append(item)
for item3 in share.get_directory_client(item["name"]).get_subdirectory_client(item2["name"]).list_directories_and_files():
my_files.append(item3)
else:
my_files.append(item)
print(my_files)
You can refer to this official documentation.

Answer 2

Honestly, I find it a bit confusing having to deal with two different methods to do "the same thing". I prefer to instantiate the directory client via the from_connection_string method.
For more information on how to list files from a FileShare, take a look at the following post: "Azure File Share - Recursive Directory Search like os.walk". The approach I reported allows to list files recursively, walking through the directories.