Java

Get a Remote FTP File's Last-Modified Time by Name

Demonstrates the Chilkat Ftp2.GetLastModifiedTimeByNameStr method, which returns the last-modified time of a named item in the current remote directory as an RFC 822 date-time string. The only argument is the filename.

Background: This queries one item's modification time directly (typically via MDTM) rather than pulling and scanning a whole listing — efficient when you already know the filename and just need its timestamp, for example to decide whether a local copy is stale. The RFC 822 string includes a timezone offset, so the moment is unambiguous.

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import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.ChilkatException;
import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.Ftp2;

public class ChilkatExample {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Demonstrates the Ftp2.GetLastModifiedTimeByNameStr method, which returns the last-modified time
        // of a named item in the current remote directory as an RFC 822 date-time string.  The only
        // argument is the filename.

        Ftp2 ftp = new Ftp2();

        ftp.setHostname("ftp.example.com");
        ftp.setUsername("myFtpLogin");

        // Normally you would not hard-code the password in source.  You should instead obtain it
        // from an interactive prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
        ftp.setPassword("myPassword");

        String lastModified;
        try {
            ftp.connect();

            ftp.changeRemoteDir("public_html");

            lastModified = ftp.getLastModifiedTimeByNameStr("report.pdf");
        } catch (ChilkatException e) {
            System.out.println(e.getLastErrorText());
            return;
        }

        System.out.println("Last modified: " + lastModified);

        try {
            ftp.disconnect();
        } catch (ChilkatException e) {
            System.out.println(e.getLastErrorText());
            return;
        }
    }
}