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Python Time & Space Complexity

Stat

stat Module¶

The stat module provides constants and functions for interpreting file stat results from os.stat() and related functions.

Complexity Reference¶

Operation	Time	Space	Notes
Mode check	O(1)	O(1)	Bitwise operation
`filemode()`	O(1)	O(1)	Convert mode to string

File Mode Operations¶

Checking File Types¶

import os
import stat

# Get file stats - O(1)
file_stat = os.stat('myfile.txt')

# Check file type - O(1)
if stat.S_ISREG(file_stat.st_mode):
    print("Regular file")
elif stat.S_ISDIR(file_stat.st_mode):
    print("Directory")
elif stat.S_ISLNK(file_stat.st_mode):
    print("Symbolic link")

# Convert to string - O(1)
mode_str = stat.filemode(file_stat.st_mode)
print(mode_str)  # e.g., "-rw-r--r--"

Checking Permissions¶

import os
import stat

file_stat = os.stat('script.py')

# Check permissions - O(1)
if file_stat.st_mode & stat.S_IEXEC:
    print("Executable")

if file_stat.st_mode & stat.S_IWRITE:
    print("Writable")