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| 1 | +# \File System Timestamps |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +A file system entry (the name of a file or directory) |
| 4 | +has several times (called timestamps) associated with it. |
| 5 | + |
| 6 | +The Ruby methods that return these timestamps (each as a Time object) |
| 7 | +are actually returning "whatever the OS says," |
| 8 | +and so their behaviors may vary among OS platforms. |
| 9 | +If a platform does not support a particular timestamp, |
| 10 | +the corresponding Ruby methods raise NotImplementedError. |
| 11 | + |
| 12 | +These timestamps are: |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +| Name | Meaning | Changes | |
| 15 | +|:--------------------------------:|----------------------------------------|-----------------------| |
| 16 | +| [`birthtime`](#birth-time) | Create time. | Never. | |
| 17 | +| [`mtime`](#modification-time) | Modification time. | When written. | |
| 18 | +| [`atime`](#access-time) | Access time. | When read or written. | |
| 19 | +| [`ctime`](#metadata-change-time) | Metadata-change time (or create time). | See below. | |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +## Birth \Time |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +The birth time for an entry is the time the entry was created. |
| 24 | +The birth time does not change, although if the entry is deleted and re-created, |
| 25 | +the birth time will be different. |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +Each of these methods returns the birth time for an entry as a Time object: |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +- File::birthtime. |
| 30 | +- File#birthtime. |
| 31 | +- File::Stat#birthtime. |
| 32 | +- Pathname#birthtime. |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | +On Windows, each of these methods also returns the birth time: |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +- File::ctime. |
| 37 | +- File#ctime. |
| 38 | +- File::Stat#ctime. |
| 39 | +- Pathname#ctime. |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +## Modification \Time |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +The modification time for an entry is the time the entry was last modified. |
| 44 | +The modification time is updated when the entry is written, |
| 45 | +though some file systems may delay the update. |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +Each of these methods returns the modification time for an entry as a Time object: |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +- File::mtime. |
| 50 | +- File#mtime. |
| 51 | +- File::Stat#mtime. |
| 52 | +- Pathname#mtime. |
| 53 | + |
| 54 | +## Access \Time |
| 55 | + |
| 56 | +The access time for an entry is the time the entry last read. |
| 57 | +The access time is updated when the entry is read, |
| 58 | +though some file systems may delay the update. |
| 59 | + |
| 60 | +Each of these methods returns the access time for an entry as a Time object: |
| 61 | + |
| 62 | +- File::atime. |
| 63 | +- File#atime. |
| 64 | +- File::Stat#atime. |
| 65 | +- Pathname#atime. |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +## Metadata-Change \Time |
| 68 | + |
| 69 | +The metadata-change time for an entry is the time the entry last read. |
| 70 | +The metadata-change time is updated when the entry's metadata is changed; |
| 71 | +changing access mode or permissions may update the metadata-change time, |
| 72 | +though some file systems may delay the update. |
| 73 | + |
| 74 | +On non-Windows systems, |
| 75 | +each of these methods returns the metadata-change time for an entry: |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +- File::ctime. |
| 78 | +- File#ctime. |
| 79 | +- File::Stat#ctime. |
| 80 | +- Pathname#ctime. |
| 81 | + |
| 82 | +On Windows, each `ctime` method returns the birth time, |
| 83 | +not the metadata-change time. |
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