A modern diff utility
Command Line – diffoscope

© Lead Image © Vlad Kochelaevskiy, 123RF.com
With support for more than 60 file formats, diffoscope extends the power of diff beyond the plain text or HTML file.
The first command in Unix-like systems for comparing files and directories was diff
. Originally written by Douglas McIlroy and first appearing in Unix 5th Edition in 1974, diff
rapidly became an essential programming tool. Today, the original command is still available, and most programming languages have their own versions of diff
. However, diff
and its derivatives generally have one limitation: With few exceptions, most of them work only with plain text or markup languages like HTML. A new variation called diffoscope [1], which was released in mid-2020, brings a new level of functionality to file comparison.
Diffoscope is developed primarily by Debian's Reproducible Builds project [2], which aims to increase the robustness and security of Debian packages by ensuring that they always build the same way. Given Debian's nearly 60,000 packages and the variety of hardware available, this is no small task, especially considering that small errors in code can be hard to trace. Diffoscope was written to make this task easier by quickly tracking down differences between two files that are supposed to be identical but perform differently. As a side effect, diffoscope provides a modern diff
utility that works across most programing languages and brings the power of diff
to desktop users and non-programmers, especially writers who wish to compare drafts. Already, diffoscope supports over 60 binary formats that range from files and filesystems to audio and text files, including MS Word, LibreOffice Writer, and PDF (Table 1). And more seem likely to follow.
Diffoscope's basic command structure is:
[...]
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
LibreOffice Tested as Possible Office 365 Alternative
Another major organization has decided to test the possibility of migrating from Microsoft's Office 365 to LibreOffice.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.