Difference between inode numbers of os.stat and os.fstat in python

Question

I wanted to get file's inode in my windows machine, so first I tried os.stat('./filename.txt').st_ino in my REPL and the output I got was 0L.

I tried the same for a couple of other files and got the same output.

Then, I tried os.fstat(open("filename.txt", "r").fileno()).st_ino and I got a long integer in output. For different files the integer was getting changed. So, I think os.fstat worked for windows while os.stat did not. Can someone explain to me the reason for this behavior and other differences between both?

Answer 1

In Python 2 on Windows, stat calls GetFileAttributesEx or FindFirstFile to get standard file information, including file attributes (e.g. directory, readonly), size, and timestamps. fstat calls GetFileType (i.e. character, pipe, disk) and GetFileInformationByHandle, which provides the standard info plus the file index number (like an inode in some ways, but not really), number of hard links, and volume serial number (unused).

Python 2 is a year away from end of life. I suggest you upgrade to Python 3, which has an improved stat implementation for Windows and further improvements in development