diff and merge

Repurposing Old Tools

© Lead Image © Ion Chiosea, 123RF.com

© Lead Image © Ion Chiosea, 123RF.com

Article from Issue 204/2017
Author(s):

Diff and merge: They're not just for developers.

Recently, a friend of mine returned to a manuscript after several months. The manuscript had half a dozen versions, and she could no longer remember how each one differed. Listening to her problem, I had a blinding flash of the obvious: diff [1], and related commands like diff3 [2] and merge [3], can be as much help to her as they have been to coders over the decades.

diff is a utility that compares two files line by line. For coders, diff is a command that defines Unix-like operating systems like Linux. Although file comparison utilities are as old as Unix, diff itself was first released in 1974 for text files, with support for binary files added later. diff presents users with a summary of the comparison in two different formats, which can also be merged into a single file. diff3 [2], a similar utility, operates in a like manner on three files, although it does not support binary formats. More sophisticated tools like patch have been developed, but diff is still installed by default in many distributions, and its output files, or diffs, remain a standard name for any patch, just as the grep command has given its name to any file search.

Basic Comparisons

Typing info diff (the man page is incomplete) quickly shows how diff can be as useful to a writer as a programmer. The command follows the standard format of a command followed by options and two files. The first file is the original, or any file if, as in my friend's case, the original is unknown or irrelevant:

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • Command Line: Diffutils

    The Diffutils tool set helps you compare text files, discover and display the differences between files, and even automatically synchronize files.

  • File Comparison

    With support for more than 60 file formats, diffoscope extends the power of diff beyond the plain text or HTML file.

  • BeeDiff

    BeeDiff compares two files and quickly displays the differences in a convenient desktop GUI interface.

  • The Kitchen Sync

    Unison is a handy tool for file syncing, backups, and merging. To get the most out of unison, however, you need to invest time perfecting your preference files to meet your needs.

  • Free Writing Tools

    Some tools designed for programming can also be very helpful for writing fiction. A few to look at include personal wikis, random word generators, and version control tools.

comments powered by Disqus
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.

Learn More

News