What is the output of 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.

What does diff command do?

diff stands for difference. This command is used to display the differences in the files by comparing the files line by line. Unlike its fellow members, cmp and comm, it tells us which lines in one file have is to be changed to make the two files identical.

What is diff output?

Updated: 05/04/2019 by Computer Hope. 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.

What is the output of diff command for two identical files?

When two files are identical, what is the output of diff command? Explanation: When two files are identical, diff command does not produce any output. It simply returns the shell prompt $. However, we can use the -s option to display an informative message on the terminal if the files are identical.

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.

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 the use of cmp command?

cmp command in Linux/UNIX is used to compare the two files byte by byte and helps you to find out whether the two files are identical or not.

What is the behavioral difference between cmp and diff commands?

‘cmp’ and ‘diff’ both command are used to list the differences, the difference between both the command is that ‘cmp’ is used to find the difference between files whereas ‘diff’ is used to find the difference between directories. cmp will list the line and column number that are different between two files.

Is there a diff command in Windows?

You can use the diff command to show differences between two files, or each corresponding file in two directories. diff outputs differences between files line by line in any of several formats, selectable by command line options. This set of differences is often called a `diff’ or `patch’.