Java

Get a Remote File's Last-Access Time

Demonstrates the Chilkat SFtp.GetFileLastAccessStr method, which returns a remote file's last-access 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: The access time is meant to update whenever a file is read, but in practice it is often unreliable: many systems mount filesystems with options like noatime to avoid a disk write on every read, so the value may not reflect recent reads. Treat it as a hint rather than an authoritative record of when a file was last opened.

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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.GetFileLastAccessStr method, which returns a remote file's last-access
        // 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 lastAccess;
        try {
            lastAccess = sftp.getFileLastAccessStr("subdir/report.pdf", bFollowLinks, bIsHandle);
        } catch (ChilkatException e) {
            System.out.println(e.getLastErrorText());
            return;
        }

        System.out.println("Last accessed: " + lastAccess);

        sftp.disconnect();
    }
}