my ($oldest) = 
    map   { $_->[0] } 
    sort  { $b->[1] <=> $a->[1] } 
    map   { [ $_, -M $_ ] } 
    <*>;

[download]

The above isn't very memory-efficient, but is probably as quick as you can hope for. Change -M with -A or -C if necessary (see relevent Perl doc). Might also want to check that the file is not a directory. The <*> might have to be changed to get a directory other than the current one.

----
I wanted to explore how Perl's closures can be manipulated, and ended up creating an object system by accident.
-- Schemer

: () { :|:& };:

Note: All code is untested, unless otherwise stated

In reply to Re: Quickest way to get the oldest file by hardburn
in thread Quickest way to get the oldest file by Anonymous Monk

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