Comapre two different files easily

[lucky10101]

Hi Friends, i often compare two different files which differ slightly in there contents can you suggest me any tool or utility which will make my task easier.

At present i am using diff, sdiff command to compare the files any better option than this ?

[Irithori]

What´s wrong with diff? Perfect for the job

But if you look for a graphical tool, try Meld : Screenshots

[lucky10101]

diff command's output is difficult to grasp quickly so want some other option to compare files

[reddragon865]

Aside from diff and sdiff you can use cmp command which compares two files and tells you which line numbers are different. Others use perl script to compare the 2 files which allows them to manipulate the output of comparisson between the two files.

[lucky10101]

Aside from diff and sdiff you can use cmp command which compares two files and tells you which line numbers are different. Others use perl script to compare the 2 files which allows them to manipulate the output of comparisson between the two files.

Hi reddragon can u give me d perl script which gives the diff between files ?

[Irithori]

I would still recommend diff.
It is the standard tool for exactly that task and definitely worth learning.

[lucky10101]

I would still recommend diff.
It is the standard tool for exactly that task and definitely worth learning.

Ok friend then i will learn diff.
One of my friend gave me dis software called Beyond Compare its 2 good 2 compare files

[sarina]

Hi,

When I want to use diff for files that have only minor differences, and also read the output easily, I do the following command:

diff -y file1 file2 > output.txt

This compares the two files side by side and puts the output into a file called output.txt (put whatever name you want there). You don't have to write to an output file but it makes it easier to read, especially for long files. For example I did the following command:

diff -y e820.c e820.orig.c > e820diff.txt

Within my e820diff.txt file, lines that are similar but different look like this:

&e820.map[i+offset], | &e820.map[i+1]

(the vertical bar shows the lines are similar but contain a change)

Lines that are in one file but not the other will have a < or > to indicate the line is only in the first or second file, respectively; for example this line:

i++; <

was only in the first file I listed.

Hope that helps! Once you get the hang of using diff, you'll never go back (:

[lucky10101]

Hi,

When I want to use diff for files that have only minor differences, and also read the output easily, I do the following command:

diff -y file1 file2 > output.txt

This compares the two files side by side and puts the output into a file called output.txt (put whatever name you want there). You don't have to write to an output file but it makes it easier to read, especially for long files. For example I did the following command:

diff -y e820.c e820.orig.c > e820diff.txt

Within my e820diff.txt file, lines that are similar but different look like this:

&e820.map[i+offset], | &e820.map[i+1]

(the vertical bar shows the lines are similar but contain a change)

Lines that are in one file but not the other will have a < or > to indicate the line is only in the first or second file, respectively; for example this line:

i++; <

was only in the first file I listed.

Hope that helps! Once you get the hang of using diff, you'll never go back (:

Thanks Sarina your post was really informative to me now i will stick to diff command instead of thinking of any software which will not be available for me wherever i use Linux flavours on diff systems

[sarina]

Awesome!!!

When you have some spare time, make a set of test files that have minor to huge differences; play around with the diff options (read the manual page - man diff) and see what sorts of things you can get it to do. I like seeing the whole file side-by-side; other people prefer to see just the changes, or other options. It's a very powerful tool!