GENDIFF(1)                                                                                                            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 <marcATredhat.com>



4th Berkeley Distribution                                Mon Jan 10 2000                                              GENDIFF(1)