3. File gid, likewise.
4. Last access time, as a list of two integers.
First integer has high-order 16 bits of time, second has low 16 bits.
- (See a note below about FAT-based filesystems.)
- 5. Last modification time, likewise.
- 6. Last status change time, likewise.
+ (See a note below about access time on FAT-based filesystems.)
+ 5. Last modification time, likewise. This is the time of the last
+ change to the file's contents.
+ 6. Last status change time, likewise. This is the time of last change
+ to the file's attributes: owner and group, access mode bits, etc.
7. Size in bytes.
This is a floating point number if the size is too large for an integer.
8. File modes, as a string of ten letters or dashes as in ls -l.
9. t if file's gid would change if file were deleted and recreated.
-10. inode number. If inode number is larger than the Emacs integer,
- but still fits into a 32-bit number, this is a cons cell containing two
- integers: first the high part, then the low 16 bits. If the inode number
- is wider than 32 bits, this is a cons cell containing three integers:
- first the high 24 bits, then middle 24 bits, and finally the low 16 bits.
-11. Device number. If it is larger than the Emacs integer, this is
- a cons cell, similar to the inode number.
+10. inode number. If inode number is larger than what Emacs integer
+ can hold, but still fits into a 32-bit number, this is a cons cell
+ containing two integers: first the high part, then the low 16 bits.
+ If the inode number is wider than 32 bits, this is of the form
+ (HIGH MIDDLE . LOW): first the high 24 bits, then middle 24 bits,
+ and finally the low 16 bits.
+11. Filesystem device number. If it is larger than what the Emacs
+ integer can hold, this is a cons cell, similar to the inode number.
+
+On most filesystems, the combination of the inode and the device
+number uniquely identifies the file.
On MS-Windows, performance depends on `w32-get-true-file-attributes',
which see.