How to check if a file is already open by another process in C?

Question

I see that standard C has no way of telling if a file is already opened in another process. So the answer should contain several examples for each platform. I need that chec

Answer 1

You can use something like this. It is not a proper solution. But it works,

 bool IsFileDownloadComplete(const std::wstring& dir, const std::wstring& fileName) 
    {
        std::wstring originalFileName = dir + fileName;
        std::wstring tempFileName = dir + L"temp";

        while(true)
        {
            int ret = rename(convertWstringToString(originalFileName).c_str(), convertWstringToString(tempFileName).c_str());
            if(ret == 0)
                break;      

            Sleep(10);
        }   

        /** File is not open. Rename to original. */
        int ret = rename(convertWstringToString(tempFileName).c_str(), convertWstringToString(originalFileName).c_str());
        if(ret != 0)
            throw std::exception("File rename failed"); 

        return true;
    }

Answer 2

Windows: Try to open the file in exclusive mode. If it works, no one else has opened the file and will not be able to open the file

HANDLE fh;
fh = CreateFile(filename, GENERIC_READ, 0 /* no sharing! exclusive */, NULL, OPEN_EXISTING, 0, NULL);
if ((fh != NULL) && (fh != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE))
{
   // the only open file to filename should be fh.
   // do something
   CloseHandle(fh);
}

MS says: dwShareMode

The sharing mode of an object, which can be read, write, both, delete, all of these, or none (refer to the following table).

If this parameter is zero and CreateFile succeeds, the object cannot be shared and cannot be opened again until the handle is closed.

You cannot request a sharing mode that conflicts with the access mode that is specified in an open request that has an open handle, because that would result in the following sharing violation: ERROR_SHARING_VIOLATION.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa363858%28v=vs.85%29.aspx

extension: how to delete a (not readonly) file filesystem which no one has open for read/write?

access right FILE_READ_ATTRIBUTES, not DELETE. DELETE could cause problems on smb share (to MS Windows Servers) - CreateFile will leave with a still open FileHandle /Device/Mup:xxx filename - why ever and whatever this Mup is. Will not happen with access right FILE_READ_ATTRIBUTES use FILE_FLAG_OPEN_REPARSE_POINT to delete filename. Else you will delete the target of a symbolic link - which is usually not what you want

HANDLE fh;
fh = CreateFile(filename,  FILE_READ_ATTRIBUTES, FILE_SHARE_DELETE /* no RW sharing! */, NULL, OPEN_EXISTING, FILE_FLAG_OPEN_REPARSE_POINT|FILE_FLAG_DELETE_ON_CLOSE, NULL);
if ((fh != NULL) && (fh != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE))
{
    DeleteFile(filename); /* looks stupid?
                          * but FILE_FLAG_DELETE_ON_CLOSE will not work on some smb shares (e.g. samba)!
                          * FILE_SHARE_DELETE should allow this DeleteFile() and so the problem could be solved by additional DeleteFile()
                          */
    CloseHandle(fh); /* a file, which no one has currently opened for RW is delete NOW */

} 

what to do with an open file? If the file is open and you are allowed to do an unlink, you will be left a file where subsequent opens will lead to ACCESS_DENIED. If you have a temporary folder, then it could be a good idea to rename(filename, tempdir/filename.delete) and delete tempdir/filename.delete.

Answer 3

Any such check would be inherently racy. Another process could always open the file between the point where you did the check and the point where you accessed the file.

Answer 4

The answers so far should tell you that finding out the information you've asked for is tricky, non-portable, and often inherently unreliable. So, from my perspective, the real answer is don't do that. Try to find a way to think about your real problem so that this question doesn't arise.

Answer 5

For Windows, this code works also:

boolean isClosed(File f) { return f.renameTo(f); }

An opened file can not be renamed, and a rename to same name does not cause another error. So if the rename succeeds, not having really done something, you know the file is not open.

Answer 6

Getting the open_files information is DIFFICULT, it's like pulling teeth, and if you don't have an immediate need for it you shouldn't be asking for "several examples for each platform" just for the hell of it. Just my opinion, of course.

Linux and many Unix systems have a system utility called lsof which finds open file handles and stuff. The way it does so is by accessing /dev/kmem, which is a pseudo-file containing a copy of "live" kernel memory, i.e. the working storage of the operating system kernel. There are tables of open files in there, naturally, and the memory structure is open-source and documented, so it's just a matter of a lot of busywork for lsof to go in there, find the information and format it for the user.

Documentation for the deep innards of Windows, on the other hand, is practically nonexistent, and I'm not aware that the data structures are somehow exposed to the outside. I'm no Windows expert, but unless the Windows API explicitly offers this kind of information it may simply not be available.

Whatever is available is probably being used by Mark Russinovich's SysInternals utilities; the first one that comes to mind is FileMon. Looking at those may give you some clues. Update: I've just been informed that SysInternals Handles.exe is even closer to what you want.

If you manage to figure that out, good; otherwise you may be interested in catching file open/close operations as they happen: The Windows API offers a generous handful of so-called Hooks: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms997537.aspx. Hooks allow you to request notification when certain things happen in the system. I believe there's one that will tell you when a program –systemwide– opens a file. So you can make your own list of files opened for the duration you're listening to your hooks. I don't know for sure but I suspect this may be what FileMon does.

The Windows API, including the hook functions, can be accessed from C. Systemwide hooks will require you to create a DLL to be loaded alongside your program.

Hope these hints help you get started.