MAN page from StartCom 5 rpm-4.4.2-37.SEL5.i386.rpm

GENDIFF

Section: User Commands (1)
Updated: Mon Jan 10 2000
Index

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 adiff file from a single directory. It takes a directory name and a"diff-extension" as its only arguments. The diff extension should bea unique sequence of characters added to the end of all original,unmodified files. The output of the program is a diff file which maybe applied with the patch program to recreate the changes.

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

Before editing a file, copy the file, appending the extension you have chosento the filename. I.e. if you were going to edit somefile.cpp and have chosenthe 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 thedirectory 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 tosee the results on stdout.

AUTHOR

Marc Ewing <marcAATTredhat.com>