Possible New Functions for NIS File Check

NFC has been available for sometime now and I suspect that there are a good number of people who check here for any new information or comments on it.

Well, there hasn't been much lately. So, it occurred to me that it might be a good time to start checking for the desirability of extending its functionality somewhat.

In the original tutorial (which FanJ has been laboriously trying to get through), near the very end, there was a discussion of two ways that NFC could be used to do some rather unexpected things. FanJ hasn't gotten to that section (yet). So, I thought it might be a good idea to see if anyone would be interested in these two extensions.

It's possible (right now) to accomplish both of these functions, but to do it easily, one needs to export the NFC output to a database program (e.g., Access) or a database-capable spreadsheet (e.g., Excel). So, what I'm really inquiring about is the extent to which people might find the two following functions desirable as an integral part of the application:

Find Potentially Duplicated Authenticated Files
This is a housekeeping function, primarily, allowing you to do some disk cleanup. What it does is look for (and then display) sorted data on files that NFC is authenticating that have exactly the same hash (SHA1, RIPEMD160, or Haval, whichever you choose). Now, there's no guarantee that, should two (or three or four) files be found having the same hash, that you've got duplicates -- the chance would simply be rather large. Please note: this would only be searching for files with the same hash, not necessarily the same filename or other file attributes. If you found true duplicates, you'd have to make your own decisions about what to do (if anything) and then do so using operating system utilities. In essence, this function would be another 'Filter Option'.

Find Old Versions of Authenticated Files
This, again, is primarily a housekeeping function, primarily, allowing you to do some disk cleanup. What it does is look for files having the same filename (and maybe file extension) as another, but in a different directory (folder). If the hash were different, one of the files is likely (but not guaranteed to be) an obsolete version of the authenticated file; if the hashes were the same, then (once again) you've most likely found a true duplicate. As above, you'd have to make your own decisions about what to do (if anything) and then do so using operating system utilities. In essence, this function would be another 'Filter Option'.

Both of these functions would probably best be implemented as new procedures in NFC, because I'm also thinking about using them later to support two or three other functions that would markedly enhance the functionality of NFC.

Again, this is basically an attempt to ascertain the degree of interest in such extended functionality. This is Albert's baby and ultimately any extensions he chooses to provide are his, and his alone.