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Re: python SDK

python SDK

app5000
Explorer | Level 3
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what is the difference between Dropbox.files_get_metadata and dropbox.files.FileMetadata? Which one should I use to get file server_Modified time?

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Greg-DB
Dropbox Staff
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Dropbox.files_get_metadata is a method, which you can use to get metadata for a file or folder. dropbox.files.FileMetadata is the class used to represent metadata for a file.

 

For example, when you call Dropbox.files_get_metadata for a file, it will return an instance of dropbox.files.FileMetadata. You can the get the server modified time via dropbox.files.FileMetadata.server_modified, that is, the server_modified attribute of the FileMetadata instance.

 

For example, that would look like this:

metadata = dbx.files_get_metadata("/test.txt")
print("File: %s" % metadata.name)
print("Server modified time: %s" % metadata.server_modified)

 

 

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5 Replies 5

Greg-DB
Dropbox Staff
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Dropbox.files_get_metadata is a method, which you can use to get metadata for a file or folder. dropbox.files.FileMetadata is the class used to represent metadata for a file.

 

For example, when you call Dropbox.files_get_metadata for a file, it will return an instance of dropbox.files.FileMetadata. You can the get the server modified time via dropbox.files.FileMetadata.server_modified, that is, the server_modified attribute of the FileMetadata instance.

 

For example, that would look like this:

metadata = dbx.files_get_metadata("/test.txt")
print("File: %s" % metadata.name)
print("Server modified time: %s" % metadata.server_modified)

 

 

app5000
Explorer | Level 3
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Thank you Greg for your quick reply.  The answer is very clear but dropbox documentation is hard to follow.  In it, the Return type is:
dropbox.files.Metadata NOT dropbox.files.FileMetadata for Dropbox.files_get_metadata method.  I checked on dropbox.files.Metadata and it does not include server_Modified attribute.  SO maybe your doc is not up to date?

Greg-DB
Dropbox Staff
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The documentation is accurate. dropbox.files.FileMetadata is a subclass of dropbox.files.Metadata.

 

The files_get_metadata method will return an instance of dropbox.files.Metadata. That will be an instance of dropbox.files.FileMetadata for files, dropbox.files.FolderMetadata for folders, or dropbox.files.DeletedMetadata for a deleted item.

 

You can use isinstance to check if the instance is a file, etc., as shown here:

 

https://github.com/dropbox/dropbox-sdk-python/blob/350e6e23feb2b5fb302e808695c228d49648ffdd/example/...

app5000
Explorer | Level 3
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Thank you.  This helps a lot.  Maybe your doc can have a page showing all the methods, then a page showing all the classes etc.  It is hard to follow when they are all mixed together.

Greg-DB
Dropbox Staff
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Thanks for the feedback!
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