+/*
+ * A struct to encapsulate the concept of whether a file has changed
+ * since we last checked it. This uses criteria similar to those used
+ * for the index.
+ */
+struct stat_validity {
+ struct stat_data *sd;
+};
+
+void stat_validity_clear(struct stat_validity *sv);
+
+/*
+ * Returns 1 if the path is a regular file (or a symlink to a regular
+ * file) and matches the saved stat_validity, 0 otherwise. A missing
+ * or inaccessible file is considered a match if the struct was just
+ * initialized, or if the previous update found an inaccessible file.
+ */
+int stat_validity_check(struct stat_validity *sv, const char *path);
+
+/*
+ * Update the stat_validity from a file opened at descriptor fd. If
+ * the file is missing, inaccessible, or not a regular file, then
+ * future calls to stat_validity_check will match iff one of those
+ * conditions continues to be true.
+ */
+void stat_validity_update(struct stat_validity *sv, int fd);
+