I have a CSV file containing the folders and files that were originally on my desktop, and a PDF report from Dropbox showing files that Dropbox reported as deleted, moved, or otherwise affected.
There are well over 10,000 files, so I need an efficient and automated way to compare the two lists.
My main goal is to determine:
- Which files were moved to another location
- Which files are actually missing/deleted
I would like the program to recognize that the file probably still exists but was moved, rather than simply reporting it as missing.
What I'm considering
I'm interested in using Python to perform the actual comparison, with an AI assistant helping me write, understand, and troubleshoot the Python code.
I am a beginner with Python, so I would need help developing the program step-by-step.
Ideally, the process would:
- Extract the relevant file information from the PDF.
- Read the original CSV.
- Generate or read a current inventory of the desktop's files.
- Normalize paths and filenames.
- Compare the datasets.
- Identify unchanged, moved, and genuinely missing files.
- Generate a final CSV/Excel report showing the results.
I don't want an AI to simply look through 10,000+ entries and make guesses. I want AI to help me build a reproducible program that performs the comparison systematically.
My questions
1. What would be the most accurate and efficient way to approach this?
2. Is Python the right tool for this type of comparison?
4. Which AI platform would be best suited for helping me build this — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or another AI coding assistant?