Convenience method for recursive directory iteration

[a-sully]

Migrated from https://github.com/WICG/file-system-access/issues/173 (see https://github.com/whatwg/fs/issues/2)

It should be easy to read only files or subfolders from a parent folder, and have a recursive option to return the contents of subfolders. Example:

try {
 for await(let file_reference of folder_reference.read({ files: true, folders: false, recursive: true })) {
  console.log(file_reference)
 }
} catch(error) {
 console.error(error)
}

[jimmywarting]

question: How would we deal with knowing the path of some handle when going into recursive mode?

[jesup]

You could use resolve() (or whatever we rename it to, the name is ugly)

[jimmywarting]

ah, forgot about the resolve, yea the name is a bit weird, it don't stick and immediately tells you what the fn dose for something... think it's in conflict with the new Promise(resolve =>

how about:

• handle.pathRelativeTo(other)
• handle.relativeTo(other)
• or some other...

[a-sully]

I had proposed some alternatives names in https://github.com/whatwg/fs/issues/4#issuecomment-1140095707. Let's move the naming discussions to that issue

[mkruisselbrink]

If this is implemented as parameters to the asynchronous iterator initialization for a directory handle (i.e. parameters to values, keys and entries) presumably the keys returned by keys and entries could somehow return the entire path as well, avoiding the need for a separate path lookup...

[jesup]

So do we need a recursive iterator? IIRC most OS's don't provide such a thing; it's easy enough to build on top of the existing interfaces.

[jimmywarting]

I do think most terminal have a recursive mode when searching/deleting files

[jesup]

Cli commands have different requirements and reasoning for options than API calls.