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, copy it  to  somefile.cpp.save
       before  editing  it.   Then  edit  the  first  copy (some­
       file.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 .orig > mydiff-orig.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)

Man(1) output converted with man2html