os.stat - time format conversion + md5

[Chad Netzer]

On Tuesday 17 December 2002 08:33, Jeff Epler wrote:

> You could also use the "sha" module.  Some people believe that
> md5 has (theoretical) weaknesses that sha doesn't, which may make
> it significantly easier to deliberately create two files with the
> same md5sum than the number of bits in the digest suggests.  The
> code would be the same, except you'd use 'sha.new' instead of
> 'md5.new'

md5 is a faster algorithm than SHA (typically by about a factor of 
two in real world tests), and assuming the application is not for 
security (ie. you just want to avoid copying identical files, 
rather than have a "Tripwire" type database for checking integrity 
of executables and files, etc.) or you are not ultra-paranoid, md5 
will probably be fine.


-- 
Bay Area Python Interest Group - http://www.baypiggies.net/

Chad Netzer
cnetzer at mail.arc.nasa.gov