cleardiff

Compares or merges text files

Applicability

Product

Command type

ClearCase®

command

Platform

UNIX®
Linux®

Windows®
Parent topic: Other commands
Parent topic: Rational ClearCase command reference

Synopsis

Description

cleardiff is a line-oriented file comparison and merge utility with a character-based user interface. It can process up to 32 files. cleardiff has some alternative interfaces:

Note: You cannot compare directory versions with cleardiff; you must use diff. (The diff command first analyzes the directory versions, then calls cleardiff using the type manager mechanism.)

For discussions of how files are compared and merged, see the diff and merge reference pages.

Options and arguments

–tin/y | –win/dow (UNIX and Linux only)
–window creates a child process, which displays a side-by-side report in a separate 120-character difference window. The diff command returns immediately. To exit the difference window, type an interrupt character (typically, Ctrl+C).

–tiny is the same as –window, but uses a smaller font in a 165-character difference window.

–dif/f_format | –ser/ial_format | –col/umns n
–diff_format reports both headers and differences in the same style as the UNIX and Linux diff command, and suppresses the file summary from the beginning of the report.

–serial_format reports differences with each line containing output from a single file, instead of using a side-by-side format.

–columns establishes the width of a side-by-side report. The default width is 80 (that is, only the first 40 or so characters of corresponding difference lines appear). If n does not exceed the default width, this option is ignored.

Note: Any of the following options can be invoked with the diff –options or merge –options commands.
–hea/ders_only | –qui/et | –sta/tus_only
–headers_only lists only the header line of each difference. The difference lines themselves are omitted.

–quiet suppresses the file summary from the beginning of the report.

–status_only suppresses all output, returning only an exit status: a 0 status indicates that no differences were found; a 1 status indicates that one or more differences were found. This option is useful in shell scripts.

–b/lank_ignore
When comparing and merging files, ignores extra white space characters in text lines: leading and trailing white space is ignored altogether; internal runs of white space characters are treated like a single <SPACE> character.
-favor/_contrib n (base=1,...)
(merge only) Specifies the contributor, in numeric value, to be used to fill in the non-changed areas of the merge output file. This option is only valid when both the –out and –b/lank_ignore options are used. If this option is not specified, the base contributor will be used.
–out output-pname
Stores the output of a merge in file output-pname. This file is not used for input, and must not already exist.
–bas/e pname
Makes file pname the base contributor for the comparison or merge. If you omit this option, the pname1 argument becomes the base contributor, and the comparison or merge automatically runs with the –qall option invoked.
–q/uery | –qal/l | –qnt/rivial | –abo/rt
–query prompts you for confirmation before proceeding with each change in the from-versions. Changes in the to-version are automatically accepted unless a conflict exists.

–qall turns off automatic acceptance of changes in which only one contributor differs from the base contributor. cleardiff prompts for confirmation of such changes, as it does when two or more contributors differ from the base contributor.

–qnt/rivial turns off automated merging and prompts you to determine whether you want to proceed except in the case where a trivial merge (branch copy) would be done.

–abort is intended for use with scripts or batch jobs that involve merges. It allows completely automatic merges to proceed, but aborts any merge that requires user interaction.

pname1 pname2 ...
The pathnames of contributors to compare or merge. These can be view-extended or version-extended path names. Only one such argument is required if you also specify a file with the –base option.

Examples

The UNIX system and Linux examples in this section are written for use in csh. If you use another shell, you may need to use different quoting and escaping conventions.

The Windows examples that include wildcards or quoting are written for use in cleartool interactive mode. If you use cleartool single-command mode, you may need to change the wildcards and quoting to make your command interpreter process the command appropriately.

In cleartool single-command mode, cmd-context represents the UNIX system and Linux shells or Windows command interpreter prompt, followed by the cleartool command. In cleartool interactive mode, cmd-context represents the interactive cleartool prompt.

See also

cleartool, diff, diff(1), merge, type_manager, xclearcase, xcleardiff

Feedback