Hi,
I can see that file properties like "Modified" change whe the file is modified. However, what does the "Accessed" file property describe? It does not appear to change for example if I open the file.
Hi,
I can see that file properties like "Modified" change whe the file is modified. However, what does the "Accessed" file property describe? It does not appear to change for example if I open the file.
There are 3 times associated with linux files: atime (access time), mtime (modifed time), ctime (inode change time).
For performance reasons, some people turn off atime when the drive is mounted.
Accessed time (atime) should show you the last time someone opened the file. Anytime you open to read the file or change it, the file's access time should change. .... Unless changing access times had been disabled on your computer. A lot of people disable access time to reduce the number of times information on the disk is updated, or to improve performance.
Check the file /etc/fstab. It lists all drives that are automatically attached to your system. If one of the entries has "noatime" on the line, then it means access times have been disabled.
I always set noatime and I've not had it break anything, yet.
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On most distros, relatime is the new default. It will avoid writing unnecessarily to files that are cached or reside on SSDs.
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