Reading a directory and getting file dates

esolm has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

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Re: Reading a directory and getting file dates by sasikumar (Monk) on Jun 01, 2005 at 20:09 UTC
Hi `use File::stat; opendir(DIR, "t:\\") or die "can't opendir $dirname: $!"; @files = readdir(DIR); closedir(DIR); foreach $file (@files) { print "$file\n"; $statusFile=stat(<path\to\file\filename>); print $statusFile->mtime; ##Modification time }` [download] For more details look at File::stat in CPAN Thanks SasiKumar	[reply] [d/l]
Re: Reading a directory and getting file dates by holli (Abbot) on Jun 01, 2005 at 20:26 UTC
`use strict; use POSIX qw (strftime); my $path = "c:\\"; opendir(DIR, $path) or die "can't opendir $path: $!"; my @files = readdir(DIR); closedir(DIR); foreach my $file (@files) { my ($mtime, $ctime) = (stat("$path$file"))[9,10]; print "$path$file was created at ", strftime ("%c", localtime($cti +me)), " and last modified at ", strftime ("%c", localtime($mtime)), " +\n"; }` [download] holli, /regexed monk/	[reply] [d/l]
Re: Reading a directory and getting file dates by cool_jr256 (Acolyte) on Jun 01, 2005 at 20:19 UTC
Try this: `opendir(DIR,"/home/user/ptest"); while($dir=readdir(DIR)) { if(($dir ne ".")&&($dir ne "..")) { if(-d "/home/user/ptest/$dir") { ($dev,$ino,$mode,$nlink,$uid,$gid,$rdev,$size, $ati +me,$mtime,$ctime,$blksize,$blocks)=stat("/home/user/ptest/".$dir); print "FILE: ".$dir." Time: $mtime\n"; } } }` [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re: Reading a directory and getting file dates by b10m (Vicar) on Jun 01, 2005 at 20:55 UTC
If all you want is the `$mtime`, you might as well use this: `my $mtime = (stat("/home/user/ptest/$dir"))[9];` [download] ...at least it's easier to read ;) -- b10m All code is usually tested, but rarely trusted.	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: Reading a directory and getting file dates by cool_jr256 (Acolyte) on Jun 01, 2005 at 20:59 UTC
Very true :)...I was a little too eager on the reply :), but at least it shows the available info one can get from 'stat'...	[reply]
Re: Reading a directory and getting file dates by b10m (Vicar) on Jun 02, 2005 at 10:32 UTC
Re: Reading a directory and getting file dates by TedPride (Priest) on Jun 01, 2005 at 21:02 UTC
Depending on what you want to do with the creation date, you might also look into the -C flag: `$date = -C $file;` [download] This returns the number of days since the file was created, which allows you to easily determine which files are over a certain age if, for instance, you're trying to clean up your directory. Otherwise, use stat.	[reply] [d/l]
Re: Reading a directory and getting file dates by jpeg (Chaplain) on Jun 01, 2005 at 20:16 UTC
Loading filenames into an array and looping through it, stat'ing each file is the canonical way to do this. I'm curious - why do you think that's stupid? -- jpg	[reply]
Re: Reading a directory and getting file dates by tlm (Prior) on Jun 01, 2005 at 20:07 UTC
I'm not sure whether this would work on Windows, but in Unix I would use stat. Update: bart is right, the `ctime` field of Unix's `stat`'s output is a poor substitute for the time of a file's creation. I don't recall ever needing time of creation for files (I always use the time of last modification), so I overlooked the "creation" part of the OP's question. My apologies. Fortunately, the Windows version of `stat` (as described in perlport) appears to be more suitable to the OP's goal than the Unix one would have been. So my suggestion turns out to be fortuitously on target. the lowliest monk	[reply]
Re^2: Reading a directory and getting file dates by bart (Canon) on Jun 01, 2005 at 20:42 UTC
Would you? Have you also checked that there is actually no field for the creation date? The closest you get is `ctime`, "inode change time", which might be creation time under some circumstances. perlport says: The "inode change timestamp" (the -C filetest) may really be the "creation timestamp" (which it is not in UNIX).	[reply]
Re^3: Reading a directory and getting file dates by Joost (Canon) on Jun 01, 2005 at 23:47 UTC
Ofcourse, this could open up the whole can of worms about what (if anything) a "creation timestamp" or "file creation time" means. For the record: I'm firmly in the "it's a meaningless concept" camp. But then, I find nix intuitive - YMMV "What should it profit a man, if he should win a flame war, yet lose his cool?"*	[reply]
Re: Reading a directory and getting file dates by sh1tn (Priest) on Jun 01, 2005 at 20:36 UTC
`perl -e "map{ -f and print pack("A25",$_), (stat)[10], $/ }glob '*'"` [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re: Reading a directory and getting file dates by injunjoel (Priest) on Jun 01, 2005 at 20:09 UTC
Greetings all ~~It sounds like you will need to run some filetest operations for that. Here is the documentation.~~ Update! Read too quickly... I agree with tlm use stat. -InjunJoel "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forego their use." -Galileo	[reply]