how to use getLastModified() in android for XML file creation/modicfication date check

Question

I am parsing XML file in my android application, but I like to modify the code, that it only parses the XML file if it is update (I will store the last successful parse date).

I found out the

urlConnection.getLastModified();

but not getting proper idea of how to use it, as it is returning milliseconds as long. is it possible I can check if file is modified or not.

thanks in advance.

Answer 1

You can use that timestamp to determine when the file was last modified. If that time is newer than the last-modified timestamp value from your last parse, the file probably was modified, so re-parse it.

Even better would be to use If-Modified-Since headers in your HTTP request, so you can skip the HTTP download of the file if it has not been modified since your last parse.