Incomplete API with respect to file related dates (cration, modification, access)

[David Lastovicka <david@…>]

The following features are missing:

• read file's creation date
• read file's last access date
• read file's creation date with a precision higher than seconds
• read file's last access date with a precision higher than seconds
• read file's last access date with a precision higher than seconds
• allow to detect capabilities of the underlying filesystem (e.g. support for creation and last access date that are not supported by all systems, or finding out date precision supported by the current filesystem)

Possible implementation notes:

• How to get high precision file date on Linux

​http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13382695/how-to-get-last-modification-time-of-a-file-with-epoch-time-format-precision-mi

• How to get high precision file date on Windows

​http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa364946.aspx

Example of current use of this feature in existing applications:

ls --full-time

[Beman Dawes]

The "precision higher than seconds" issues are fixed in the File System TS. The time type is now chrono::time_point. This change will be reflected in the Boost implementation sometime this summer as part of a general upgrade to meet the TS specs.

See ​http://cplusplus.github.io/filesystem-ts/working-draft.html

The creation and last access requests have been on the "do-list" for years, but keep getting pushed aside by more pressing needs. The design issue that needs a solution is what to do on systems that don't support the functionality. A simple solution is needed; anything elaborate will not fly.

If you would like to submit the specifications, or better yet a complete pull request, that would move this issue forward. You can email me: bdawes at acm dot org.

Thanks,

--Beman