Is ctime always <= mtime?

Question

When using os.stat() in Python, can I assume that st_ctime is always less then or equal to st_mtime? If not, why not?

The code will always run on Linux, but if there is

Answer 1

It's entirely possible to set both values programmatically. You might also be able to have this happen "naturally" by setting the clock back to before the file was created.

In other words, yes. It would be unusual but is entirely possible.