Frequent question: How do you diff in Linux?

How can I find the difference between two files in Linux?

When you compare two computer files on Linux, the difference between their contents is called a diff.



9 Best File Comparison and Difference (Diff) Tools for Linux

  1. diff Command. …
  2. Vimdiff Command. …
  3. Kompare. …
  4. DiffMerge. …
  5. Meld – Diff Tool. …
  6. Diffuse – GUI Diff Tool. …
  7. XXdiff – Diff and Merge Tool. …
  8. KDiff3 – – Diff and Merge Tool.

How does diff command work in Unix?

On Unix-like operating systems, the diff command analyzes two files and prints the lines that are different. In essence, it outputs a set of instructions for how to change one file to make it identical to the second file.

How do you diff two files in UNIX?

There are 3 basic commands to compare files in unix:

  1. cmp : This command is used to compare two files byte by byte and as any mismatch occurs,it echoes it on the screen. if no mismatch occurs i gives no response. …
  2. comm : This command is used to find out the records available in one but not in another.
  3. diff.

How do I run a diff between two files?

Comparing files (diff command)

  1. To compare two files, type the following: diff chap1.bak chap1. This displays the differences between the chap1. …
  2. To compare two files while ignoring differences in the amount of white space, type the following: diff -w prog.c.bak prog.c.

What is use of diff command?

diff is a command-line utility that allows you to compare two files line by line. It can also compare the contents of directories. The diff command is most commonly used to create a patch containing the differences between one or more files that can be applied using the patch command.

What does 2 mean in Linux?

38. File descriptor 2 represents standard error. (other special file descriptors include 0 for standard input and 1 for standard output). 2> /dev/null means to redirect standard error to /dev/null . /dev/null is a special device that discards everything that is written to it.

How do I grep a file in Linux?

How to use the grep command in Linux

  1. Grep Command Syntax: grep [options] PATTERN [FILE…] …
  2. Examples of using ‘grep’
  3. grep foo /file/name. …
  4. grep -i “foo” /file/name. …
  5. grep ‘error 123’ /file/name. …
  6. grep -r “192.168.1.5” /etc/ …
  7. grep -w “foo” /file/name. …
  8. egrep -w ‘word1|word2’ /file/name.

How do you sort files in Linux?

How to Sort Files in Linux using Sort Command

  1. Perform Numeric Sort using -n option. …
  2. Sort Human Readable Numbers using -h option. …
  3. Sort Months of an Year using -M option. …
  4. Check if Content is Already Sorted using -c option. …
  5. Reverse the Output and Check for Uniqueness using -r and -u options.

What is difference between comm and CMP command?

Different ways of comparing two files in Unix



#1) cmp: This command is used to compare two files character by character. Example: Add write permission for user, group and others for file1. #2) comm: This command is used to compare two sorted files.

What is a diff algorithm?

A diff algorithm outputs the set of differences between two inputs. These algorithms are the basis of a number of commonly used developer tools.

What is the output of the diff command?

The diff command can display the output in several formats with the normal, context, and unified format being the most common ones. The output includes information about which lines in the files must be changed so that they become identical. If the files match, no output is produced.

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