How to track changes in a file using timestamp?

ghz 8months ago ⋅ 83 views

So, I want to implement a program in C to track changes in a file using timestamp. Exactly I don't have an idea how to implement it.

I want to track changes in files like what happens in git it tells me where I modified.

Answers

To track changes in a file using timestamps, you can use the stat() function in C to retrieve the modification time of the file. You can then store this information and compare it with the current modification time to detect changes. Here's a basic example of how you can implement this:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <time.h>

// Function to get the modification time of a file
time_t get_modification_time(const char *filename) {
    struct stat attrib;
    stat(filename, &attrib);
    return attrib.st_mtime;
}

int main() {
    const char *filename = "example.txt"; // Change this to your file name

    // Get the initial modification time of the file
    time_t initial_mod_time = get_modification_time(filename);

    // Infinite loop to check for changes
    while (1) {
        // Sleep for some time before checking again
        sleep(1);

        // Get the current modification time of the file
        time_t current_mod_time = get_modification_time(filename);

        // Compare the current modification time with the initial one
        if (current_mod_time != initial_mod_time) {
            printf("File '%s' has been modified.\n", filename);

            // Update the initial modification time
            initial_mod_time = current_mod_time;
        }
    }

    return 0;
}

In this example:

  1. We define a function get_modification_time() that takes a filename as input and returns the modification time of the file.
  2. In the main() function, we initially get the modification time of the file and store it in initial_mod_time.
  3. We then enter an infinite loop where we repeatedly check the modification time of the file.
  4. If the modification time changes, we print a message indicating that the file has been modified, and update the initial_mod_time to the current modification time.

Note: This is a simple example and may not cover all cases (e.g., file deletion, file creation). You may need to enhance it based on your specific requirements and handle edge cases accordingly. Additionally, this example continuously polls the file for changes, which may not be efficient for large or frequently changing files. Depending on your use case, you may need to consider other approaches, such as using file system notifications or a version control system like Git.

#c