UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

How do we track the modification history on a file in UNIX. IS there any command or any script that we could run.

Many Thanks

probably the stat command will work, also look at the man pages of find.
Example with stat :
I edit the file with vi, add one line/character, and then the Modify field becomes :
Modify: 2008-03-27 14:10:53.000000000 +0200

The question could also be interpreted to mean what was changed, not just when. Basically the solution to that is revision control.

i am not basically looking for any change in the content of the file, just want know whether i can track who n all have modified the file and time they had modified

somehow stat is not giving me satisfactory results.,
here 's what i have done,

vi a test file

add some content
then,
-bash-3.00$ stat test.pl
File: `test.pl'
Size: 54 Blocks: 8 IO Block: 8192 regular file
Device: 1fh/31d Inode: 33573536 Links: 1
Access: (0644/-rw-r--r--) Uid: (19914/arvindgk) Gid: (11063/ qe)
Access: 2008-03-28 00:57:42.000000000 -0400
Modify: 2008-03-28 00:57:42.000000000 -0400
Change: 2008-03-28 00:57:42.000000000 -0400

---
then again vi the file, modify it

-bash-3.00$ stat test.pl
File: `test.pl'
Size: 69 Blocks: 8 IO Block: 8192 regular file
Device: 1fh/31d Inode: 33573532 Links: 1
Access: (0644/-rw-r--r--) Uid: (19914/arvindgk) Gid: (11063/ qe)
Access: 2008-03-28 00:58:23.000000000 -0400
Modify: 2008-03-28 00:58:23.000000000 -0400
Change: 2008-03-28 00:58:23.000000000 -0400


--- do not know wots happening here, it has the access, modify and change times are updated.

** wot i am looking for is i want both the time to be displayed, so that i can track who all had accessed or modified the file

Many thanks

The inode changed there so you really have a new file there, under the hood. Some editors work like that, for various reasons.

For tracking system-wide when a named file has changed, with history, you need to install some additional software which monitors the file system for you; the desired functionality is not available by default. If you are on a HAL system (try man hald) then I think it may offer something like this, possibly as an add-on.