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From: chris@mimsy.umd.edu (Chris Torek)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: find
Keywords: time atime mtime ctime
Message-ID: <21231@mimsy.umd.edu>
Date: 12 Dec 89 17:49:34 GMT
References: <21721@adm.BRL.MIL> <1989Dec12.060748.29698@csusac.csus.edu>
Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Coll. Pk., MD 20742
Lines: 16

In article <1989Dec12.060748.29698@csusac.csus.edu> tyson@csusac.csus.edu
(Gary Tyson) writes:
>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)

This is mostly correct, except that the access time is not changed if
the file is written, only if it is read.

`ctime' can be thought of as `time of last operation that requires that
the file be backed up'.  A backup program can decide whether a file needs
saving by comparing the file's ctime with the time of the previous backup.
-- 
In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci Dept (+1 301 454 7163)
Domain:	chris@cs.umd.edu	Path:	uunet!mimsy!chris