Long question short: How does Windows update attributes, specifically modification time, for a growing file that is shared across the network.
Long question: I have been trying to work out exactly how Windows updates it's modification time for growing files. Checking locally, it seems to updates regularly (up to every couple of seconds). Checking across a network share it generally updates every 10 seconds, with a second update occurring in the next couple of seconds.
This would seem normal, and originally I thought that it just polled the attributes every 10 seconds. However, if you also check the length of the file, both the modification time and the length updates up to every couple of seconds as well (still across the network share).
Can anyone explain why is it that the length attribute retrieves latest information? Was I incorrect that the information is updated on a timed basis? Is length considered more important by the system? Nothing I have found so far has suggested that the attributes should be treated differently.
Thanks in advance.