I am calling inexperienced developers inexperienced.
Are you literally suggesting that there are no inexperienced developers?
I am also saying that this thread is interesting and that inexperienced developers don't see the problem.
"very likely opens the file anyway" is not an argument.
"code smell" and "very likely wrong" are not arguments.
The reasons you need to stat a file without opening it, or do any other low level operation, are open ended and infinite. It's backwards to try to think up some specific invalid contrived example use case, and then say how you didn't need to do that specific thing that specific way, and so therefor you never needed that facility.
These are all quite bad reasoning and "inexperienced developer smell".
If you are experienced and still reasoning like this, that's unfortunate.
I am also saying that this thread is interesting and that inexperienced developers don't see the problem.
"very likely opens the file anyway" is not an argument.
"code smell" and "very likely wrong" are not arguments.
The reasons you need to stat a file without opening it, or do any other low level operation, are open ended and infinite. It's backwards to try to think up some specific invalid contrived example use case, and then say how you didn't need to do that specific thing that specific way, and so therefor you never needed that facility.
These are all quite bad reasoning and "inexperienced developer smell". If you are experienced and still reasoning like this, that's unfortunate.