Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mailrus!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!ucdavis!csusac!tyson
From: tyson@csusac.csus.edu (Gary Tyson)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: find
Summary: Description of file times
Keywords: time atime mtime ctime
Message-ID: <1989Dec12.060748.29698@csusac.csus.edu>
Date: 12 Dec 89 06:07:48 GMT
References: <21721@adm.BRL.MIL>
Reply-To: tyson@csusac.UUCP (Gary Tyson)
Organization: California State University, Sacramento
Lines: 26

In article <21721@adm.BRL.MIL> SIMSN%NUSDISCS.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu writes:
>
>
> Can anyone explain what's the difference between atime, mtime,
> ctime?
>
> I'm not sure how to interpret "accessed", "modified" and
> "changed". Seems to me like it all meant when the file was
> "touched".

You are correct in thinking "a" is access etc.
But...  When you "touch" a file you make it appear to have been modified.

Access time is changed when a file is read or modified (true if touched)
Modify time is changed when a file is modified (but read alone isnt enough)
Change time is changed when a file's inode is modified (this is also true
    if a file is modified)

You might try the manual entry for stat for more info. (Or man -k time)

Hope this helps.


      Gary Tyson

P.S.  I am still looking for a book on a.out and ld...  Help!