NAME
diff - compare files line by line
SYNOPSIS
diff [OPTION]... FILES
DESCRIPTION
Compare files line by line.
-i --ignore-case | |
Ignore case differences in file contents. | |
--ignore-file-name-case | |
Ignore case when comparing file names. | |
--no-ignore-file-name-case | |
Consider case when comparing file names. | |
-E --ignore-tab-expansion | |
Ignore changes due to tab expansion. | |
-b --ignore-space-change | |
Ignore changes in the amount of white space. | |
-w --ignore-all-space | |
Ignore all white space. | |
-B --ignore-blank-lines | |
Ignore changes whose lines are all blank. | |
-I RE --ignore-matching-lines=RE | |
Ignore changes whose lines all match RE. | |
--strip-trailing-cr | |
Strip trailing carriage return on input. | |
-a --text | Treat all files as text. |
-c -C NUM --context[=NUM] | |
Output NUM (default 3) lines of copied context. | |
-u -U NUM --unified[=NUM] | |
Output NUM (default 3) lines of unified context. | |
--label LABEL | |
Use LABEL instead of file name. | |
-p --show-c-function | |
Show which C function each change is in. | |
-F RE --show-function-line=RE | |
Show the most recent line matching RE. | |
-q --brief | |
Output only whether files differ. | |
-e --ed | Output an ed script. |
--normal | |
Output a normal diff. | |
-n --rcs | Output an RCS format diff. |
-y --side-by-side | |
Output in two columns. | |
-W NUM --width=NUM | |
Output at most NUM (default 130) print columns. | |
--left-column | |
Output only the left column of common lines. | |
--suppress-common-lines | |
Do not output common lines. | |
-D NAME --ifdef=NAME | |
Output merged file to show #ifdef NAME diffs. | |
--GTYPE-group-format=GFMT | |
Similar, but format GTYPE input groups with GFMT. | |
--line-format=LFMT | |
Similar, but format all input lines with LFMT. | |
--LTYPE-line-format=LFMT | |
Similar, but format LTYPE input lines with LFMT. | |
LTYPE is old, new, or unchanged. | |
GTYPE is LTYPE or changed. | |
GFMT may contain: | |
%< | lines from FILE1 |
%> | lines from FILE2 |
%= | lines common to FILE1 and FILE2 |
%[-][WIDTH][.[PREC]]{doxX}LETTER | |
printf-style spec for LETTER | |
LETTERs are as follows for new group, lower case for old group: | |
F | first line number |
L | last line number |
N | number of lines = L-F+1 |
E | F-1 |
M | L+1 |
LFMT may contain: | |
%L | contents of line |
%l | contents of line, excluding any trailing newline |
%[-][WIDTH][.[PREC]]{doxX}n | |
printf-style spec for input line number | |
Either GFMT or LFMT may contain: | |
%% | % |
%cC | the single character C |
%c\OOO | the character with octal code OOO |
-l --paginate | |
Pass the output through pr to paginate it. | |
-t --expand-tabs | |
Expand tabs to spaces in output. | |
-T --initial-tab | |
Make tabs line up by prepending a tab. | |
--tabsize=NUM | |
Tab stops are every NUM (default 8) print columns. | |
--suppress-blank-empty | |
Suppress space or tab before empty output lines. | |
-r --recursive | |
Recursively compare any subdirectories found. | |
-N --new-file | |
Treat absent files as empty. | |
--unidirectional-new-file | |
Treat absent first files as empty. | |
-s --report-identical-files | |
Report when two files are the same. | |
-x PAT --exclude=PAT | |
Exclude files that match PAT. | |
-X FILE --exclude-from=FILE | |
Exclude files that match any pattern in FILE. | |
-S FILE --starting-file=FILE | |
Start with FILE when comparing directories. | |
--from-file=FILE1 | |
Compare FILE1 to all operands. FILE1 can be a directory. | |
--to-file=FILE2 | |
Compare all operands to FILE2. FILE2 can be a directory. | |
--horizon-lines=NUM | |
Keep NUM lines of the common prefix and suffix. | |
-d --minimal | |
Try hard to find a smaller set of changes. | |
--speed-large-files | |
Assume large files and many scattered small changes. | |
-v --version | |
Output version info. | |
--help | Output this help. |
AUTHOR
Written by Paul Eggert, Mike Haertel, David Hayes, Richard Stallman, and Len Tower.
REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs to <bug-gnu-utils@gnu.org>.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html> This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
SEE ALSO
The full documentation for diff is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and diff programs are properly installed at your site, the command
info diff | |