Stat() calls

There are four stat-like calls

The stat() system call will provide the statistics about the target file - it will follow symlinks.

The lstat() system call will provide the statistics about the link itself, if it is a link, otherwise same as stat.

The fstat() system call operates on an already-opened file descriptor.
Immune to race conditions - the file is already open
Need to have already opened the file in a safe manner.

The access() system call lets you know if a potential action (read/write) would succeed on a particular file.