Java

Get a Remote File's Creation Time

Demonstrates the Chilkat SFtp.GetFileCreateTimeStr method, which returns a remote file's creation date and time. The arguments are the remote path (or handle), whether symbolic links are followed, and whether the first argument is a handle.

Background: Creation time is the least universally available of the three timestamps: many Unix filesystems historically tracked only modified and accessed times, so a server may return nothing or a placeholder. Where it is supported it is genuinely useful — it does not change when a file is edited, unlike the modified time — but code should tolerate its absence rather than depend on it.

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import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.ChilkatException;
import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.SFtp;

public class ChilkatExample {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Demonstrates the SFtp.GetFileCreateTimeStr method, which returns a remote file's creation date
        // and time.  The 1st argument is the remote path (or handle), the 2nd selects whether symbolic
        // links are followed, and the 3rd indicates whether the 1st argument is a handle.

        SFtp sftp = new SFtp();

        // Connect, authenticate, and initialize the SFTP subsystem.
        int port = 22;
        try {
            sftp.connect("sftp.example.com", port);
        } catch (ChilkatException e) {
            System.out.println(e.getLastErrorText());
            return;
        }

        // 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.
        String password = "mySshPassword";

        try {
            sftp.authenticatePw("mySshLogin", password);

            sftp.initializeSftp();
        } catch (ChilkatException e) {
            System.out.println(e.getLastErrorText());
            return;
        }

        // The 2nd argument (bFollowLinks) selects whether a symbolic link is followed to its target.
        // The 3rd argument (bIsHandle) is false here because the 1st argument is a path, not an
        // open handle.
        boolean bFollowLinks = true;
        boolean bIsHandle = false;

        String createTime;
        try {
            createTime = sftp.getFileCreateTimeStr("subdir/report.pdf", bFollowLinks, bIsHandle);
        } catch (ChilkatException e) {
            System.out.println(e.getLastErrorText());
            return;
        }

        System.out.println("Created: " + createTime);

        // Note: Not all servers and filesystems record a creation time.

        sftp.disconnect();
    }
}