How to Find the Most Recently Modified File in a .NET Directory Without Looping?

.NET efficiently searches for recently modified files in a directory (no need to loop)

In programming, finding recently modified files in a directory is a common task. While it is possible to loop through all files and compare their modification timestamps, this approach is inefficient for large directories. This article introduces a more efficient method that does not require looping.

Using LINQ's OrderByDescending method, we can sort files in descending order based on their last written time. The following code snippet demonstrates this approach:

<code class="language-csharp">var directory = new DirectoryInfo("C:\MyDirectory");
var myFile = (from f in directory.GetFiles()
             orderby f.LastWriteTime descending
             select f).First();</code>

Alternatively, we can use the GetFiles() extension method on the IEnumerable<FileInfo> obtained by OrderByDescending:

<code class="language-csharp">var myFile = directory.GetFiles()
             .OrderByDescending(f => f.LastWriteTime)
             .First();</code>

Of both methods, the First() method retrieves the first element from the sorted sequence, ensuring that we get the most recently modified file.

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