interdiff
compares two unified diff files and generates a diff representing the changes
TLDR
SYNOPSIS
interdiff [-U N] [-p N] [-d PAT] [-q] [-i] [-w] [-b] [-B] [-z] patch1 patch2
DESCRIPTION
interdiff compares two unified diff files (patches) and generates a diff representing the changes between them. This is useful for understanding what changed between two versions of a patch or for creating incremental patches.Given patch1 that transforms A to B, and patch2 that transforms A to C, interdiff produces a patch that transforms B to C. This helps when reviewing patch revisions or creating upgrade paths between software versions.
PARAMETERS
-U N, --unified=N
Display N lines of context (default: 3).-p N, --strip-match=N
Ignore N leading pathname components when matching filenames.-d PAT, --drop-context=PAT
Exclude context for files whose names match pattern PAT.-i, --ignore-case
Treat upper and lower case as identical when comparing.-w, --ignore-all-space
Ignore all whitespace when comparing.-b, --ignore-space-change
Ignore changes in the amount of whitespace.-B, --ignore-blank-lines
Ignore changes that consist only of blank-line additions/removals.-z, --decompress
Automatically decompress .gz and .bz2 patches.-q, --quiet
Reduce warnings in output.--no-revert-omitted
Do not revert portions of the first patch that are omitted from the second.--help
Display usage information.--version
Show version number.
INSTALL
CAVEATS
Both input patches must be in unified diff format. Context diffs are not supported. The patches must apply to the same base files for meaningful results. Complex patches with significant structural changes may produce confusing output.
HISTORY
interdiff is part of the patchutils package, written by Tim Waugh and first released around 2001. The patchutils suite provides tools for manipulating patch files, addressing common needs in software development and distribution workflows.
SEE ALSO
combinediff(1), diff(1), patch(1)
