Getting file attributes in Java

Question

Given a java.io.File that represents a .exe file, how can I discover the file attributes - for example: size and date created, and how could I discover the data in the executable properties - for example: file version?

Answer 1

Presumably you're referring to NTFS Extended Attributes here, and it's only recently (as of Java SE 7) that you've been able to get at these without some kind of windows specific JNI hackery. This should be doable with the new NIO2 file attributes interface. Some of these attributes, such as size, are basic attributes, while others such as version are "user" attributes.

Probably the best page with examples that explains the use of this API is at http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-nio2-2/ -- search down for "File attributes" if you're not interested in the examples of the other APIs.