[erlang-questions] size of an open file

[Per Hedeland]

jm <jeffm@REDACTED> wrote:
>
>Thanks. Last question I hope. In attempting to tail a log file:  How do 
>you detect that the file has rolled over, ie a new log file has been 
>created?
>Is there a smarter way than comparing the size of the open file and the 
>size of the file by name? I can see a couple of problems with this method.
>To begin with if the new log file grows larger than the old log file 
>before there is a chance to switch files. I suppose you could do
>
> SizeOfOpen =:= SizeofNamedFile
>
>but this doesn't seem right. Really, a comparison should be done on the 
>filenames, ie compare the name of the currently open file with that of 
>the requested filename to detect a roll over, but I don't see a 
>file:read_file_info/1 for open files.

It's not in general possible to find the name for an open file on *nix,
even outside Erlang - e.g. an open file may not have a name, or it can
have multiple names. What you want to check on *nix is the inode number
(and major/minor device number if you're really paranod, since inode
numbers are per-device). This is provided by file:read_file_info/1 -
again not for open files, but if you are opening the files, you can of
course call it before you open... Windows is another story of course.

--Per