.TH SDIFF 1 "22sep1993" "GNU Tools" "GNU Tools" .SH NAME sdiff \- find differences between two files and merge interactively .SH SYNOPSIS .B sdiff .B -o outfile [options] from-file to-file .SH DESCRIPTION The .I sdiff command merges two files and interactively outputs the results to .IR outfile . If .I from-file is a directory and .I to-file is not, .I sdiff compares the file in .I from-file whose file name is that of .IR to-file , and vice versa. .I from-file and .I to-file may not both be directories. .I sdiff options begin with .BR \- , so normally .I from-file and .I to-file may not begin with .BR \- . However, .B \-\- as an argument by itself treats the remaining arguments as file names even if they begin with .BR \- . You may not use .B \- as an input file. .I sdiff without .B \-o (or .BR \-\-output ) produces a side-by-side difference. This usage is obsolete; use .B "diff \-\-side\-by\-side" instead. .SS Options Below is a summary of all of the options that GNU .I sdiff accepts. Each option has two equivalent names, one of which is a single letter preceded by .BR \- , and the other of which is a long name preceded by .BR \-\- . Multiple single letter options (unless they take an argument) can be combined into a single command line argument. Long named options can be abbreviated to any unique prefix of their name. .TP .B \-a Treat all files as text and compare them line-by-line, even if they do not appear to be text. .TP .B \-b Ignore changes in amount of white space. .TP .B \-B Ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines. .TP .B \-d Change the algorithm to perhaps find a smaller set of changes. This makes .I sdiff slower (sometimes much slower). .TP .B \-H Use heuristics to speed handling of large files that have numerous scattered small changes. .TP .B \-\-expand\-tabs Expand tabs to spaces in the output, to preserve the alignment of tabs in the input files. .TP .B \-i Ignore changes in case; consider upper- and lower-case to be the same. .TP .BI "\-I " regexp Ignore changes that just insert or delete lines that match .IR regexp . .TP .B \-\-ignore\-all\-space Ignore white space when comparing lines. .TP .B \-\-ignore\-blank\-lines Ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines. .TP .B \-\-ignore\-case Ignore changes in case; consider upper- and lower-case to be the same. .TP .BI \-\-ignore\-matching\-lines= regexp Ignore changes that just insert or delete lines that match .IR regexp . .TP .B \-\-ignore\-space\-change Ignore changes in amount of white space. .TP .B \-l .br .ns .TP .B \-\-left\-column Print only the left column of two common lines. .TP .B \-\-minimal Change the algorithm to perhaps find a smaller set of changes. This makes .I sdiff slower (sometimes much slower). .TP .BI "\-o " file .br .ns .TP .BI \-\-output= file Put merged output into .IR file . This option is required for merging. .TP .B \-s .br .ns .TP .B \-\-suppress\-common\-lines Do not print common lines. .TP .B \-\-speed\-large\-files Use heuristics to speed handling of large files that have numerous scattered small changes. .TP .B \-t Expand tabs to spaces in the output, to preserve the alignment of tabs in the input files. .TP .B \-\-text Treat all files as text and compare them line-by-line, even if they do not appear to be text. .TP .B \-v .br .ns .TP .B \-\-version Output the version number of .IR sdiff . .TP .BI "\-w " columns .br .ns .TP .BI \-\-width= columns Use an output width of .IR columns . Note that for historical reasons, this option is .B \-W in .IR diff , .B \-w in .IR sdiff . .TP .B \-W Ignore horizontal white space when comparing lines. Note that for historical reasons, this option is .B \-w in .IR diff , .B \-W in .IR sdiff . .SH SEE ALSO cmp(1), comm(1), diff(1), diff3(1). .SH DIAGNOSTICS An exit status of 0 means no differences were found, 1 means some differences were found, and 2 means trouble.