<p>How can I figure out the state of the files in my client, I want to know if the file needs an updated, or patched, or modified etc. In CVS, I used to simply run "cvs -n -q update . > file". Later look for M,U,P,C attributes to get the current status of the file.</p>

<p>In perforce, "p4 sync -n" doesn't give output like "cvs -n -q update". How can I see the current status of files, in case of Perforce?</p>

Not quite sure what you mean.  If you are talking about seeing what files need "resolving" (in perforce language) then you can use:
```
```
p4 resolve -n
```
```
See the p4 command line manual website here:
http://www.perforce.com/perforce/doc.current/manuals/cmdref/resolve.html#1040665
Also P4V has a nice feature to highlight unsubmitted and dirty files, if you use that client.  Right-click on a fodler in the workspace view, and select "reconcile offline work."  After a bit of processing you'll get a list of files that are out of sync with the depot.
Hope this helps.