gendiff  -  utility to aid in error-free diff file genera­
       tion


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 modi­
       fied need to be saved.

       Before editing a file, copy the file, appending the exten­
       sion  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 fash­
       ion, 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>


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