SFtpFile B4X (B4A / B4J) Reference Documentation

ChilkatSFtpFile

Current Version: 11.6.0

Chilkat.SFtpFile

Inspect metadata for a file, directory, symlink, or special item in an SFTP listing.

Chilkat.SFtpFile represents one entry returned from an SFTP directory listing. It exposes the entry name, file type, size, ownership, permissions, timestamps, and server-provided attribute flags such as hidden, read-only, archive, immutable, encrypted, compressed, sparse, append-only, system, and synchronization status. It is typically used together with Chilkat.SFtpDir when iterating a remote directory and deciding how each entry should be displayed, filtered, downloaded, skipped, or processed.

Name and type

Read Filename and FileType, or use convenience flags such as IsRegular, IsDirectory, and IsSymLink.

File sizes

Access the entry size as a 32-bit integer, 64-bit integer, or decimal string using Size32, Size64, or SizeStr.

Timestamps

Inspect creation, last-access, and last-modified times as date/time values or RFC822-formatted strings when supported by the server.

Ownership

Read numeric user and group IDs, and when the server supports it, textual owner and group names.

Permissions

Inspect the POSIX-style permissions bit mask for read, write, execute, set-user-ID, set-group-ID, and sticky-bit information.

Extended attributes

Check server-provided flags such as hidden, read-only, archive, immutable, encrypted, compressed, sparse, append-only, system, and sync.

Common pattern: Retrieve a directory listing with Chilkat.SFtp, iterate its Chilkat.SFtpDir entries, and populate a Chilkat.SFtpFile object for each item. Use the file type, timestamps, size, permissions, and attribute flags to decide whether the entry is a regular file, directory, symlink, or special item and how the application should handle it.
Server-version note: Some metadata is only available from newer SFTP protocol versions. For example, textual owner/group information and creation time require SFTP v4 or later, while many extended attribute flags such as read-only, archive, immutable, compressed, encrypted, sparse, append-only, and system require SFTP v6 or later.

Declare / Initialize / Dispose

Sub Process_Globals
    Private obj As ChilkatSFtpFile
End Sub

' Call Initialize before first use -- typically in AppStart (B4J)
' or Activity_Create (B4A):
obj.Initialize                ' classes without events
obj.Initialize("evt")        ' classes with events: "evt" becomes the
                              ' prefix of event Subs such as evt_PercentDone
Initialize  /  Initialize (EventName As String)

Creates the underlying native Chilkat object. Classes that support events take an EventName argument: it becomes the prefix of the event Subs (<EventName>_AbortCheck, <EventName>_PercentDone, <EventName>_ProgressInfo); classes without events take no arguments. The native Chilkat library loads automatically on the first Initialize — from the APK on Android, or extracted from ChilkatB4J.jar on Windows/Linux/macOS.

IsInitialized As Boolean

True if Initialize has been called and the native object exists.

Dispose

Explicitly frees the underlying native object. Calling Dispose is optional — every ChilkatSFtpFile is also freed automatically when garbage-collected — but is recommended for long-lived objects holding sockets, sessions, or large buffers. A disposed object can be re-Initialized.

Properties

CreateTimeStr
' read-only
CreateTimeStr As String

Returns the file creation date and time as an RFC 822-formatted string, such as Fri, 21 Nov 1997 09:55:06 -0600.

Server requirement: Creation-time metadata is available only when the server supports SFTP version 4 or later and provides this attribute.

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DebugLogFilePath
' read/write
DebugLogFilePath As String

If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.

Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.

Possible causes of hangs include:

  • A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
  • A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
  • An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.

More Information and Examples
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Filename
' read-only
Filename As String

Returns the name of the directory entry. Depending on the entry type, this may be a regular filename, directory name, symbolic-link name, or the name of another special filesystem object.

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FileType
' read-only
FileType As String

Identifies the type of directory entry. The returned value is one of the following:

Value Meaning
regularA regular file.
directoryA directory.
symLinkA symbolic link.
specialA special file whose more specific type is not reported.
unknownThe type is unknown or was not provided by the server.
socketA socket.
charDeviceA character device.
blockDeviceA block device.
fifoA FIFO (named pipe).

The convenience properties IsRegular, IsDirectory, and IsSymLink may be used for the most common entry types.

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Gid
' read-only
Gid As Int

Returns the numeric group ID associated with the file.

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Group
' read-only
Group As String

Returns the textual group name associated with the file.

Server requirement: This attribute is available only when the server supports SFTP version 4 or later and provides owner/group names.

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IsAppendOnly
' read-only
IsAppendOnly As Boolean

Returns True if the server marks the file as append-only. New data may be added only at the end of the file; existing data cannot be overwritten through normal file writes.

Server requirement: This attribute is defined for SFTP version 6 or later.

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IsArchive
' read-only
IsArchive As Boolean

Returns True if the server marks the file for inclusion in backup or archive operations.

Server requirement: This attribute is defined for SFTP version 6 or later.

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IsCaseInsensitive
' read-only
IsCaseInsensitive As Boolean

Applies to directories. Returns True when names within the directory should be compared without regard to letter case.

Server requirement: This attribute is defined for SFTP version 6 or later.

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IsCompressed
' read-only
IsCompressed As Boolean

Returns True if the file is stored using transparent filesystem-level compression on the server.

This attribute describes how the server stores the file. It does not change the file bytes transferred through SFTP.

Server requirement: This attribute is defined for SFTP version 6 or later.

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IsDirectory
' read-only
IsDirectory As Boolean

Returns True if the directory entry is a directory.

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IsEncrypted
' read-only
IsEncrypted As Boolean

Returns True if the file is stored using transparent filesystem-level encryption on the server.

This attribute describes storage at rest. It does not alter the file bytes returned by read operations or accepted by write operations.

Server requirement: This attribute is defined for SFTP version 6 or later.

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IsHidden
' read-only
IsHidden As Boolean

Returns True if the server marks the entry as hidden. Hidden entries are normally omitted from user-facing displays unless the user specifically requests them.

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IsImmutable
' read-only
IsImmutable As Boolean

Returns True if the server marks the file as immutable. An immutable file cannot normally be deleted, renamed, modified, or used as the target of a new hard link.

Immutability is generally stronger than read-only status, the ordinary permission mask, or an access-control list. On many systems, only a privileged administrator can set or clear this attribute.

Server requirement: This attribute is defined for SFTP version 6 or later.

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IsReadOnly
' read-only
IsReadOnly As Boolean

Returns True if the server marks the file as read-only.

Server requirement: This attribute is defined for SFTP version 6 or later.

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IsRegular
' read-only
IsRegular As Boolean

Returns True if the directory entry is a regular file rather than a directory, symbolic link, device, socket, FIFO, or other special type.

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IsSparse
' read-only
IsSparse As Boolean

Returns True if the server identifies the file as sparse. A sparse file can contain unwritten regions, often called holes, that read as zero bytes without consuming equivalent physical disk space.

For example, writing data at an offset of 10 MB may leave the region between the previous end of file and that offset unallocated on disk.

Some servers store all files sparsely and may always set this flag. Other servers cannot reliably determine whether a file is sparse, so a file may be sparse even when this property is False.

Server requirement: This attribute is defined for SFTP version 6 or later.

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IsSymLink
' read-only
IsSymLink As Boolean

Returns True if the directory entry is a symbolic link.

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IsSync
' read-only
IsSync As Boolean

Returns True if modifications to the file are committed synchronously to server storage.

Server requirement: This attribute is defined for SFTP version 6 or later.

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IsSystem
' read-only
IsSystem As Boolean

Returns True if the server marks the file as part of the operating system.

Server requirement: This attribute is defined for SFTP version 6 or later.

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LastAccessTimeStr
' read-only
LastAccessTimeStr As String

Returns the file's last-access date and time as an RFC 822-formatted string, such as Fri, 21 Nov 1997 09:55:06 -0600.

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LastErrorHtml
' read-only
LastErrorHtml As String

Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastErrorText
' read-only
LastErrorText As String

Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastErrorXml
' read-only
LastErrorXml As String

Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastMethodSuccess
' read/write
LastMethodSuccess As Boolean

Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: True means success, False means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages. Note: This property does not apply to methods that return integer values or to boolean-returning methods where the boolean does not indicate success or failure.

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LastModifiedTimeStr
' read-only
LastModifiedTimeStr As String

Returns the file's last-modified date and time as an RFC 822-formatted string, such as Fri, 21 Nov 1997 09:55:06 -0600.

Use LastModifiedTime when a native date/time value is more convenient.

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Owner
' read-only
Owner As String

Returns the textual owner name associated with the file.

Server requirement: This attribute is available only when the server supports SFTP version 4 or later and provides owner/group names.

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Permissions
' read-only
Permissions As Int

Returns the POSIX-style file-permission bit mask. The values correspond to the permission and special-mode bits in the POSIX st_mode field.

Symbol Octal value Meaning
S_IRUSR0400Owner read
S_IWUSR0200Owner write
S_IXUSR0100Owner execute
S_IRGRP0040Group read
S_IWGRP0020Group write
S_IXGRP0010Group execute
S_IROTH0004Others read
S_IWOTH0002Others write
S_IXOTH0001Others execute
S_ISUID4000Set-user-ID
S_ISGID2000Set-group-ID
S_ISVTX1000Sticky bit

Use bitwise AND operations to test individual permission bits.

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Size32
' read-only
Size32 As Int

Returns the file size in bytes as a 32-bit integer. Returns -1 when the size cannot be represented by a 32-bit integer. Use Size64 or SizeStr for larger values.

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Size64
' read-only
Size64 As Long

Returns the file size in bytes as a 64-bit integer.

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SizeStr
' read-only
SizeStr As String

Returns the file size in bytes as a base-10 string. This is the string representation of Size64 and is useful in environments where a 64-bit integer is inconvenient or unavailable.

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Uid
' read-only
Uid As Int

Returns the numeric user ID associated with the file.

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VerboseLogging
' read/write
VerboseLogging As Boolean

If set to True, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is False. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

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Version
' read-only
Version As String

Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0"

More Information and Examples
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Methods