(VB.NET) 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 .NET Downloads Chilkat .NET Framework Chilkat for .NET Core

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

Dim ftp As New Chilkat.Ftp2

ftp.Hostname = "ftp.example.com"
ftp.Username = "myLogin"
ftp.Password = "myPassword"
' Use explicit TLS
ftp.AuthTls = True
ftp.Port = 21

' For debugging, turn on session logging so we can examine what is sent by the server.
ftp.KeepSessionLog = True

' Connect and login to the FTP server.
Dim success As Boolean = ftp.Connect()
If (success <> True) Then
    Debug.WriteLine(ftp.LastErrorText)
    Exit Sub
End If


ftp.ChangeRemoteDir("AAWorkarea")

ftp.ListPattern = "*.*"
Dim n As Integer = ftp.GetDirCount()
Debug.WriteLine("n = " & n)

Dim dt As Chilkat.CkDateTime
Dim i As Integer = 0
While i < n
    ' Get the original creation date/time as a CkDateTime object.
    dt = ftp.GetCreateDt(i)
    Debug.WriteLine(i & ": " & ftp.GetFilename(i) & ", " & dt.GetAsTimestamp(False))


    i = i + 1
End While

' 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.

Debug.WriteLine("---- Session Log ----")
Debug.WriteLine(ftp.SessionLog)

ftp.Disconnect()