FileInfo doesn't cache its contents

23 Jul 2004 08:21

Imagine this code:

FileInfo oldInfo = new FileInfo(path);
RemoveID3TagsFromFile(path);
FileInfo newInfo = new FileInfo(path);
Trace.Assert(newInfo.Length < oldInfo.Length);

So, we’ve got some code that removes the ID3 tags from a file, thus shortening it. To check that it’s working correctly, we use FileInfo to make sure that the new file is smaller than the old one.

The assert triggers anyway, even if the file is smaller. What’s going on?

The answer: FileInfo doesn’t actually look up the length until you ask for it, so oldInfo.Length and newInfo.Length are the same: the new length of the file.

Do this instead:

FileInfo oldInfo = new FileInfo(path);
long oldLength = oldInfo.Length;
RemoveID3TagsFromFile(path);
FileInfo newInfo = new FileInfo(path);
long newLength = newInfo.Length;
Trace.Assert(newLength < oldLength);