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 se‐
       quence  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 gen‐
       diff  eliminates the need for the extra, original and unmodified directory copy.  Instead, only the indi‐
       vidual 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 be‐
       fore 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>

                                                 Mon Jan 10 2000                                      GENDIFF(1)