(Delphi DLL) Get Create Date/Time of Files in a Remote Directory

Gets the creation date/times of files in a remote FTP directory.

Note: Linux and MacOSX filesystems do not keep a file's creation date/time. If the FTP server is running on such as system, then the Chilkat methods to return a creation date/time will instead return a last-modified date/time.

Also Note: FTP servers have differing capabilities. The "MLSD" command is not supported by all FTP servers. For such servers, only the last-modified date/time is returned per file or directory. Also, the precision of the date/time can vary.

Also, even if MLSD is supported, the server may not return "create" times. A sample MLSD response without "create" times is shown here:

MLSD
150 Opening data channel for directory listing of "/AAWorkarea"

(DirListingCharset: utf-8)
listing size = 1258
type=file;modify=20170915140700;size=1224; 2012-05-12T12_25_23.1481154Z.txt
type=file;modify=20170915140700;size=1297; 2012-05-12T12_25_27.2577797Z.txt
type=dir;modify=20180425163206; chilkat-9.5.0-php-5.6-win32
type=file;modify=20180425163146;size=3768683; chilkat-9.5.0-php-5.6-win32.zip
type=file;modify=20180222182447;size=9487872; chilkat_electron18_win32-9.50.72.tar
type=file;modify=20180222182447;size=3612565; chilkat_electron18_win32-9.50.72.tgz
type=dir;modify=20180903155724; DotNet4_CSharp_Sample
type=file;modify=20180227230517;size=469; meteorNotes.txt
type=dir;modify=20180227225933; my_cool_app
type=dir;modify=20180222183126; package
type=file;modify=20180214223538;size=9487872; package.tar
type=file;modify=20180214223538;size=3612484; package.tgz
type=dir;modify=20180312233811; phpAx
type=dir;modify=20170526002148; smartconnect_terminalemulatorR1.0.0.1
type=file;modify=20180503225204;size=21900478; smartconnect_terminalemulatorR1.0.0.1.zip
type=file;modify=20180503225117;size=1152; smartPay.txt
type=dir;modify=20180514140507; testVc10
type=dir;modify=20180612143825; thinlaunch
type=dir;modify=20180925173446; WindowsFormsApplication1
226 Successfully transferred "/AAWorkarea"

The original creation time of a file is only available if the "create" fact is returned in the MLSD response. See RFC 3659 - Format of Facts / Standard Facts

Chilkat for Delphi Downloads Chilkat non-ActiveX DLL for Delphi Chilkat ActiveX DLL for Delphi * The examples here use the non-ActiveX DLL.

uses
    Winapi.Windows, Winapi.Messages, System.SysUtils, System.Variants, System.Classes, Vcl.Graphics,
    Vcl.Controls, Vcl.Forms, Vcl.Dialogs, Vcl.StdCtrls, Ftp2, CkDateTime;

...

procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
ftp: HCkFtp2;
success: Boolean;
n: Integer;
dt: HCkDateTime;
i: Integer;

begin
// This example requires the Chilkat API to have been previously unlocked.
// See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

ftp := CkFtp2_Create();

CkFtp2_putHostname(ftp,'ftp.example.com');
CkFtp2_putUsername(ftp,'myLogin');
CkFtp2_putPassword(ftp,'myPassword');
// Use explicit TLS
CkFtp2_putAuthTls(ftp,True);
CkFtp2_putPort(ftp,21);

// For debugging, turn on session logging so we can examine what is sent by the server.
CkFtp2_putKeepSessionLog(ftp,True);

// Connect and login to the FTP server.
success := CkFtp2_Connect(ftp);
if (success <> True) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(CkFtp2__lastErrorText(ftp));
    Exit;
  end;

CkFtp2_ChangeRemoteDir(ftp,'AAWorkarea');

CkFtp2_putListPattern(ftp,'*.*');
n := CkFtp2_GetDirCount(ftp);
Memo1.Lines.Add('n = ' + IntToStr(n));

i := 0;
while i < n do
  begin
    // Get the original creation date/time as a CkDateTime object.
    dt := CkFtp2_GetCreateDt(ftp,i);
    Memo1.Lines.Add(IntToStr(i) + ': ' + CkFtp2__getFilename(ftp,i) + ', ' + CkDateTime__getAsTimestamp(dt,False));
    CkDateTime_Dispose(dt);

    i := i + 1;
  end;

// Show the session log so we can see the details of the FTP directory listing sent by the server.
// This tells us what information is available.  Some FTP servers provide better and more accurate information
// than others.

Memo1.Lines.Add('---- Session Log ----');
Memo1.Lines.Add(CkFtp2__sessionLog(ftp));

CkFtp2_Disconnect(ftp);

CkFtp2_Dispose(ftp);

end;