'This version of stats returns None if the entry is not found'

def _stats(self, path):

    path = Hdfs.normpath(path)
    params = self._getparams()
    params['op'] = 'GETFILESTATUS'
    try:
        json = self._root.get(path, params)
        return WebHdfsStat(json['FileStatus'], path)
    except WebHdfsException as ex:
        if ((ex.server_exc == 'FileNotFoundException') or (ex.code == 404)):
            return None
        raise ex
