gendiff(1)

NAME

   gendiff - utility to aid in error-free diff file generation

SYNOPSIS

   gendiff <directory> <diff-extension>

DESCRIPTION

   gendiff  is a rather simple script which aids in generating a diff file
   from a single directory.  It  takes  a  directory  name  and  a  "diff-
   extension"  as  its  only  arguments.   The  diff extension should be a
   unique sequence of  characters  added  to  the  end  of  all  original,
   unmodified  files.   The output of the program is a diff file which may
   be applied with the patch program to recreate the changes.

   The usual sequence of events for creating  a  diff  is  to  create  two
   identical  directories, make changes in one directory, and then use the
   diff utility to create a list of differences between  the  two.   Using
   gendiff  eliminates  the  need  for  the extra, original and unmodified
   directory copy.  Instead, only the individual files that  are  modified
   need to be saved.

   Before  editing a file, copy the file, appending the extension you have
   chosen to the filename.  I.e. if you were going  to  edit  somefile.cpp
   and have chosen the extension "fix", copy it to somefile.cpp.fix before
   editing it.  Then edit the first copy (somefile.cpp).

   After editing all the files you need to edit in this fashion, enter the
   directory one level above where your source code resides, and then type

       $ gendiff somedirectory .fix > mydiff-fix.patch

   You  should  redirect  the output to a file (as illustrated) unless you
   want to see the results on stdout.

SEE ALSO

   diff(1), patch(1)

AUTHOR

   Marc Ewing <marc@redhat.com>

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Free and Open Source Software