No Connection String from Arcpy Describe ArcSDE workspace

Question

I'm using ArcGIS for Desktop 10.2.1 and I'm trying to use arcpy.Describe to get a connection string from an ArcSDE connection. My ArcSDE database is 10.2. However, the connectionString parameter from the arcpy.Describe method returns an empty string as if the workspace was not SDE. Is this a bug or intentional?>>> conn = arcpy.Describe(r'Database Connections\Master GIS Data.sde')
>>> print conn.connectionString

>>>

MikeOnzay · Answer

I ran into the same problem. My workaround was to use the workspacepath property in the layer class

BrendanDwyer · Answer

Nicholas,
I ran into a similar problem.  See this thread:

http://forums.arcgis.com/threads/101720-Describe-workspace-noodle-scratcher

Long story short, if you are using OS authentication, make sure the user the script is running as has permissions to the sde database.

jskinner · Answer

Hi Nicholas,

This appears to be a bug.  I would recommend logging an incident with Tech Support to have this bug logged, and to see if there is a possible workaround.