DOS script to Check if a file is older than 20 minutes

Hello sitaparijat

Could you possibly do something for us that will be helpful for working out your times and checking the date of your file.  Open a command window on the computer that will be running the script and type the following commands:

echo %DATE%
echo %TIME%

We will need to know if your Date shows as DD/MM/YYYY or the USA format of Day MM/DD/YYYY.  If the HOUR in your current TIME is later than 10am, then could you perhaps change the system time (if possible) back to an hour with a single digit, ie. before 10am, and then do the   echo %TIME%  command again to see if the Hour shows as a single digit with a space in front of it, or if it adds a Zero in front of the single digit hour.  For example, does it show as:
 8:47:57.24
or
08:47:57.24

Knowing this will make it easier to present a script known to work on your system.  I think your formats will be the same as my UK ones:

DD/MM/YYYY
 8:47:57.24

Bill

One other thing that would be very helpful to know.  Would you be scheduling the script to run at 20 minute intervals to check the status of the file?  It sounds as though you are monitoring a log file for the Last Write Time at intervals, is that correct?

one method that avoids timestamps altogether is to use a xcopy command.

Im on my phone at the mo. but basically:

script scheduled every 20 mins say
xcopy the log file if archive bit is set to new location
Check if the file has copied or there was an error
If the file hasn't copied then it hasn't been marked as needing archive so it hasn't been modified.

Same goes for xcopy /d which will copy if newer.

Othere than that BillDL is on the right track wanting to know the date #ime formats though I would say the date bit should be irrelevant and apart from within 20 mins of midnight a simple check of the time from the file vs current time would give you a yes/no.

Steve

Dear All,
Thanks for the interest.

Pl let me know how I can change the zone for the question.

I did as BillDL suggested and here is what I have
C:\sFTP\Runtime>echo %DATE%
Fri 09/25/2009

C:\sFTP\Runtime>echo %TIME%
16:44:14.91




This is a server so I can not chnage the server time to (less than 10 AM) see how it will behave. I will do it tomorrow morning.
I intend to run this script every 20 minutes and send an email if the file is older than 20 minutes.
This is a server so I can not chnage the system time immediately. But I will try it tomorrow and let you know. Is there a way we can determine this from the regional settings in the control panel?

Don't change the system time... if it is part of a domain controller especialluy etc. could cause you all sorts of issues with replication and other time issues.

You don't need to change time, just look at the format in the morning :-)

Did you look at my suggestion of whether it would be OK to do this -- how big is this file?  You could also us fc.exe to compare the files.  If your script runs every 20 mins then anything that has not changed since the last run is over 20 mins old and therefore needs checking anyway.

@echo off
set logfile="C:\yourlogfile.txt"
echo f|xcopy /Y /M %logfile% "%temp%\logfile.txt" | find "0 File(s) copied"
if "%errorlevel%"=="0" (
 echo The file has not changed since the script was last ran
 dir %logfile% > bodyofemail.txt
 rem Use BLAT or whatever to send message
)

Steve

Don't worry about changing the system time.  That gives me what we would need to write a script.

You said:
"I intend to run this script every 20 minutes and send an email if the file is older than 20 minutes."

Just to make sure of something.  You are testing to see if the EDI process DID NOT update the log file from the last time it was checked 20 minutes before that?

Does this mean that the EDI process starts, does what it needs to do, and then stops?

Does the EDI process run as a scheduled task also?  If so, then Scheduled Tasks creates and updates a log file %WinDir%\Schedlgu.txt, and in it you should see the error return codes that indicate success or failure:
0x0: Operation completed successfully
0x1: Incorrect or unknown function was called
0xa: Incorrect environment.

Scheduled Tasks runs as a Windows Service (Service Name = "Schedule", Display Name = "Task Scheduler"), so it should also be logged in the Event Viewer.  You can extract information from the event viewer logs using "%SystemRoot%\System32\Eventquery.vbs".  Syntax here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc772995(WS.10).aspx

If the EDI process runs all the time in the background, and all you really need to do is check to ensure that it is still running since checked 20 minutes ago, then you can easily check this from a batch file using the TASKLIST command and filtering results to show the current status of the process.

These are just some thoughts about other methods that might be available to you.  I need to go to bed now, but I'll look at this later.

Thanks for stepping in quick with the warning about the time Steve.  I had a clunky but functional batch file that I just had to iron out two issues with, but the xcopy way is by far the easiest and best.  In fact, I had this comment almost typed out 45 minutes ago, but was diverted and didn't finish it.

sory wasn't trying to ruin your result (may be needed anwway don't have time  at the mo) but having seen servers have time changed - one big company effectively had a day a year or so ahead they had LOADs of things happen on because for a short periof a date had been put forward  on a dc, synced out to servers and all sorts of replication things get stamped with a dtae/time so effectuvely didn't work properly until that  new date... at which point old docs replicate back because it is past the window of how long deletions are kept for ... glad I wasn't working for the company at the time but saw some of the aftermath.
Not suggesting changing time by a fe hours would break as badly  but its too easy to accidentally press an arow in the wrong box and change the year by mistake etc!

Anyway will leave you to it but will be around if wanted.

BTW if the log file is held open it may not be possible to open it, or it might be too big to copy (in which case comparing the output line of dir with the previously kept output of dir would do I guess?

Steve

To summarize and throw in new methods:

• check for the scheduled task's status. This can be done similar to this lines: 

• check for the archive attribute, sample: 

Dear All,
I checked the system time and here how it looks.
C:\Documents and Settings\administrator.SCHENKER-ASIA>echo %time%
 9:33:38.17

The EDI process runs once  every ten-fifteen minutes and during which time it updates the log file with all the gory details of what it has done.. If it did not run for what ever reason. they we know about it..
It is not running continuously..

Btw, dragon-it 's script looks simple and might work... but can you fill me in on the detaisl of what the script does? I can understand a little.. but some still some questions remain..
 echo f|xcopy /Y /M %logfile% "%temp%\logfile.txt" | find "0 File(s) copied"
What is this exactly? xcopy swithced /Y /M what they mean?    

I can google it, but wanted to hear from Expert..

I also need a trick to search if the files in a folder ( the input files from customer) are sitting in the folder for greater than say 20 minutes..

Sorry ifI increased the scope of the request.

Sure.  The xcopy switches /Y mean overwrite without prompting so if the file already exists in the destination area then it will still copy.

The /m bit only copies files with the A archive bit set - when you modify a file it is flagged as needing a backup by the os so that you can just backup changed files you can see this in the proprteies of a file in explorer or using the command attrib.exe in a cmd window.

The /M switch only copies files that have this archive bit set and then resets it .... so if the file has changed since the script last ran the find command will see 1 files copied.  If the file hasn't changed it will se 0 files copied.

The find command returns an erorlevel result based on what you are trying to find and the script checks this and ou can act on it to use whatever alert you want...

The xcopy f| bit sends the letter f into the input of the xcopy command to stop it waiting for an answer to the Q 'is xxxx a file or directory'.

As to your other Q I suggest you raise a new related Q using the button on this Q and then it can be kept separate but those on this Q already will get notified of it.

Steve

Steve

Hi Steve,
Your script expects me to save the earlier version to a folder and next time when you check see if it has changed or not.
There is one challenge with this script you have provided. I have a number of EDIs running and I need to check so I need to set up a different folder for each check.
. So If possible I  prefer some mechanism that can check the time stamp (last modified date )  of the file to ensure that it is older than say 20 minutes.

I want to check for a large number of files in a single script. I may have manylog directories with the log files. I want to repeat like below.

@echo off
set logfile1="C:\dir1\yourlogfile1.txt"
set logfile2="C:\dir1\yourlogfile2.txt"

echo f|xcopy /Y /M %logfile1% "%temp%\logfile1.txt" | find "0 File(s) copied"
if "%errorlevel%"=="0" (
 echo The file has not changed since the script was last ran
 dir %logfile% > bodyofemail.txt
 rem Use BLAT or whatever to send message
)
echo f|xcopy /Y /M %logfile2% "%temp%\logfile2.txt" | find "0 File(s) copied"
if "%errorlevel%"=="0" (
 echo The file has not changed since the script was last ran
 dir %logfile2% > bodyofemail.txt
 rem Use BLAT or whatever to send message
)


Any smarter way to do it?
 

Hi Steve

I've had to problems with subtracting time values.  I haven't been able to spend much time since I wrote what I believed to be a working batch file though.  Preliminary tests indicated that it was working, but the flaws kept showing up when subtracting backwards past that 00:00 or 24:00 annoying "midnight hour" when the earlier time of just before midnight has the higher "number" that the current time in the "wee hours", and so ends up a negative integer.

I have attempted to address this using various conversions to numeric formats, adding 12 if PM to set value to 24-hr clock, etc, but it's still failing and I honestly don't have the time to look too much more deeply into it.

I am attaching it as a .TXT file rather than into a code snippet, because it's heavily remarked out for my own reference while trying to troubleshoot it, and it is lengthy.  This is the last attempt in which I tried your +40 thing (although I have to confess that I don't fully understand what it was designed to do.

It relies upon the following being true to even run though.
System %TIME% at Command Prompt ie. 24-hr clock =  13:59:30.86
System %TIME% at Command Prompt: Mon 09/28/2009
The following command:
dir /a-d /od /tw /4 testfile.doc | find /i "/"
generating this output:
09/28/2009  04:03 PM            34,816 testfile.doc

Perhaps you may see where the problem is.

Whoops, sorry, that was the version WITHOUT the +40 bit being used with the set /a command.  Makes not difference, it has flaws just the same.

Sorry folks, but I do not get why we are running the long and winded way? Wouldn't the simple "Archive attribute check" method work?

Yes, it would be, but sitaparijat did ask for a "time" solution in his comment http:#25437196 where possible.
"So If possible I  prefer some mechanism that can check the time stamp (last modified date )  of the file to ensure that it is older than say 20 minutes."

I tried and failed (a demonstration of my inexperience), but I'm sure you'll crack it in a couple of minutes ;-)

I tried a VBScript approach in his relate question:  http://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/MS_DOS/Q_24766031.html

I have understood that as using time stamps opposed to the copy-previous-files-to-compare-if-newer method, not necessarily really using the timestamp. I still think the Archive attribute method is sufficient.

... and the same applies to the other question, as this technique could be used there, too. Only reason to go for a more complicated solution is if you want to evaluate the time stamp, eg. for escalation (20 minutes, 40 minutes, 60 minutes ago ...).

I didn't suggest this method for the other Q as obviously running two checks with attribute clearing possibly running differently might not be a good plan as they cancel each other out... it souns like diffrent files though -- one to check if the process has failed and not updating log files and one to check if any input files are over 20 mins old.  As you say they could be done in the same way with attribs too I guess having though of it more.  I didn't want to cloud this question with two tracks.  Clearly "modalot" has decided the other question isn't worthy anyway.

I don't know why I waste my time here for a few lousy T-shirts... I like the challenge and learning experiences but so easy to get put off... and I suppose the t-shirts do come in useful for the kids to have their hair cut in.

Anyway I've put far too much time into this Q and EE in general today already so I will leave sitaparijat with you lot and might come back if I see something interesting another day..