tail -f implementation in C ++

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Hi,
I was asked this question in an interview. How to implement the equivalent of Unix command tail -f in C or C++. Can someone please advise.

I think we should use ftell, fseek, but not quite sure though.

Thanks,
Ganesh

Posted 11-Dec-09 10:51am

ganeshm69

Updated 2-Jun-10 12:07pm

Moak

v2

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cva45 · Answer 1 · 2010-06-02T07:27:00

Solution 2

why not just read tail's source code or try to implement it? :)

Posted 2-Jun-10 7:27am

cva45

«_Superman_» · Answer 2 · 2009-12-11T17:56:00

Solution 1

I would use the getline function and recursion.

Posted 11-Dec-09 17:56pm

«_Superman_»

Comments

CPallini 2-Jun-10 15:50pm

Why recursion?

Moak 2-Jun-10 18:05pm

Why no threads?

«_Superman_» 3-Jun-10 1:09am

Long term memory loss. :o)

Moak 3-Jun-10 4:31am

Grin :)

Niklas L · Answer 3 · 2010-06-03T03:49:00

I think the file change notification is the key when asked a question like that. Not how you read a file, because everyone knows how to read a file.

FindFirstChangeNotification() would work on windows followed by a WaitForXxxObject()to avoid having a timer.

Knowing the names of the functions is probably not necessary at an interview, but knowing about them and describing the technique is more valuable.