Sample code for 30+ languages & platforms
PHP ActiveX

Get an FTP Listing Entry's Creation Time

See more FTP Examples

Demonstrates the Chilkat Ftp2.GetCreateTimeStr method, which returns the creation time of a cached directory-listing entry as an RFC 822 date-time string. The only argument is a zero-based index.

Background: Creation time is the least commonly reported of the timestamps — many servers and filesystems track only modification and access times — so expect it to be absent on some servers. When present it is genuinely useful because, unlike the modified time, it does not change when a file is edited. The RFC 822 format includes a timezone offset, making the moment unambiguous.

Chilkat PHP ActiveX Downloads

PHP ActiveX
<?php

$success = 0;

//  Demonstrates the Ftp2.GetCreateTimeStr method, which returns the creation time of a cached
//  directory-listing entry as an RFC 822 date-time string.  The only argument is a zero-based
//  index.

$ftp = new COM("Chilkat.Ftp2");

$ftp->Hostname = 'ftp.example.com';
$ftp->Username = '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->Password = 'myPassword';

$success = $ftp->Connect();
if ($success == 0) {
    print $ftp->LastErrorText . "\n";
    exit;
}

$success = $ftp->ChangeRemoteDir('public_html');
if ($success == 0) {
    print $ftp->LastErrorText . "\n";
    exit;
}

//  GetDirCount retrieves the directory listing on the first call and returns the number of
//  entries.  A negative return indicates failure.
$n = $ftp->GetDirCount();
if ($n < 0) {
    print $ftp->LastErrorText . "\n";
    exit;
}

for ($i = 0; $i <= $n - 1; $i++) {
    $name = $ftp->getFilename($i);

    //  The value is an RFC 822 string such as "Fri, 21 Nov 1997 09:55:06 -0600".  Not all servers
    //  report a creation time.
    $createTime = $ftp->getCreateTimeStr($i);
    print $name . '  created ' . $createTime . "\n";
}

$success = $ftp->Disconnect();
if ($success == 0) {
    print $ftp->LastErrorText . "\n";
    exit;
}


?>