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bdiff(1)
NAME
  bdiff - Finds differences in large files

SYNOPSIS
  bdiff file1 file2 [number] [-s]

  bdiff - file2 [number] [-s]

  bdiff file1 - [number] [-s]

  The bdiff command compares file1 and file2 and writes information about
  their differing lines to standard output.  If either filename is - (dash),
  bdiff reads standard input.

OPTIONS
  -s  Suppresses error messages.  (May either precede or follow the number
      argument if it is specified.)

DESCRIPTION
  The bdiff command uses diff to find lines that must be changed in two files
  to make them identical (see the diff command).  Its primary purpose is to
  permit processing of files that are too large for diff.

  The bdiff command ignores lines common to the beginning of both files,
  splits the remainders into sections of number lines, and runs diff on the
  sections.  The output is then processed to make it look as if diff had
  processed the files whole.

  If you do not specify number, a system default is used.  In some cases, the
  number you specify or the default number may be too large for diff.  If
  bdiff fails, specify a smaller value for number and try again.

  Note that because of file segmenting, bdiff does not necessarily find the
  smallest possible set of file differences.  In general, although the output
  is similar, using bdiff is not the equivalent of using diff.

NOTES
  The diff command is executed by a child process, generated by forking, and
  communicates with bdiff through pipes.

  It should not normally be necessary to use this command, since diff can
  handle most large files.

EXIT STATUS
  0 (zero)
	  No differences.

  1	  Differences found.

  >1	  An error occurred.

SEE ALSO
  Commands:  diff(1), diff3(1)

Index for Section 1

Alphabetical listing for B

Top of page