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Comparing Text Files
The diff
command in Linux will show us the where the lines in text files differ and ignore lines that are the same.
Create Text File 1
echo "Khaydarbi Melikov is a foot soldier." >> regiment_version1.txt
echo "Khaydarbi Melikov is a member of the the Maroon Martyrs regiment" >> regiment_version1.txt
Create Text File 2
echo "Khaydarbi Melikov is a foot soldier." >> regiment_version2.txt
echo "Khaydarbi Melikov is a member of the Reserve regiment" >> regiment_version2.txt
View Text File 1
$ cat regiment_version1.txt
Khaydarbi Melikov is a foot soldier.
Khaydarbi Melikov is a member of the the Maroon Martyrs regiment
View Text File 2
$ cat regiment_version1.txt
Khaydarbi Melikov is a foot soldier.
Khaydarbi Melikov is a member of the Reserve regiment
Create Compare Text Files
diff regiment_version1.txt regiment_version2.txt
2c2
< Khaydarbi Melikov is a member of the the Maroon Martyrs regiment
---
> Khaydarbi Melikov is a member of the Reserve regiment
Notice that the lines that matched are not shown, instead it outputs only the line in both documents that differs.
If we want to see the context around the differences, we can use the -c
argument:
diff -c regiment_version1.txt regiment_version2.txt
*** regiment_version1.txt 2018-08-03 11:20:07.313559654 -0700
--- regiment_version2.txt 2018-08-03 11:20:10.077617610 -0700
***************
*** 1,2 ****
Khaydarbi Melikov is a foot soldier.
! Khaydarbi Melikov is a member of the the Maroon Martyrs regiment
--- 1,2 ----rm
Khaydarbi Melikov is a foot soldier.
! Khaydarbi Melikov is a member of the Reserve regiment