Compares two files, displaying the records that do not match.

Format
 DIFFERENCES input1-file-spec [input2-file-spec]

 Requires the Common Utilities Option.

Additional information available:

ParametersQualifiers

input1-file-spec
 Specification of the file being compared. Wild card characters are not
 allowed.
input2-file-spec
 Specification of the secondary file being compared. Unspecified fields
 default to the corresponding fields in input1-file-spec. If the two
 file specifications are the same or input2-file-spec is omitted, the
 version number defaults to the next lower version of input1-file-spec.

Additional information available:

/CHANGE_BAR/COMMENT_DELIMITER/IGNORE/MATCH
/MAXIMUM_DIFFERENCES/MERGED/MODE/NUMBER/OUTPUT
/PARALLEL/SEPARATED/WIDTH/WINDOW

 Marks with the specified character each line in the input1 file that
 differs from the corresponding line in the input2 file. The change bar
 character defaults to an exclamation point (!) for Ascii output. If
 you specify hexadecimal or octal output (see /MODE qualifier), the
 change bar character is ignored and differences are marked by
 a "***CHANGE***" string. The keyword NONUMBER suppresses line
 numbers in the listing. If only one option is specified, the
 parentheses can be omitted.

 Ignores lines starting with a specified comment character. If the
 comment character is an exclamation point or semicolon, it can appear
 anywhere in the line and characters to the right of the character are
 ignored. If you specify just one character, you can omit the
 parentheses. Lowercase characters are automatically converted to
 uppercase unless they are enclosed in quotation marks. Special DCL
 characters (such as ! and ,) must be enclosed in quotation marks. You
 can specify up to 32 comment characters by typing the character itself
 or one of the following keywords (keywords can be abbreviated provided
 that the resultant keyword is not ambiguous and has at least two
 characters):

 +-------------+----------------------+
 |   Keyword   |      Character       |
 +-------------+----------------------+
 +-------------+----------------------+
 | COLON       | Colon (:)            |
 +-------------+----------------------+
 | COMMA       | Comma (,)            |
 +-------------+----------------------+
 | EXCLAMATION | Exclamation mark (!) |
 +-------------+----------------------+
 | FORM_FEED   | Form feed            |
 +-------------+----------------------+
 | LEFT        | Left bracket ([)     |
 +-------------+----------------------+
 | RIGHT       | Right bracket (])    |
 +-------------+----------------------+
 | SEMI_COLON  | Semicolon (;)        |
 +-------------+----------------------+
 | SLASH       | Slash (/)            |
 +-------------+----------------------+
 | SPACE       | Space                |
 +-------------+----------------------+
 | TAB         | Tab                  |
 +-------------+----------------------+

 The following characters are the default comment delimiters for files
 with the specified file types:

 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 |    File type    |               Characters               |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | B2S,B32,BAS,BLI | !                                      |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | CBL,CMD         | ! and ;                                |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | COB             | * or / in the first column             |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | COM,COR         | !                                      |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | FOR             | ! anywhere and C, D, c, d in the first |
 |                 | column                                 |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | HLP             | !                                      |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | MAC,MAR         | ;                                      |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | R32,REQ         | !                                      |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+

 Inhibits the comparison of the specified characters, strings, or
 records, and formats the output file. If you specify only one keyword,
 you can omit the parentheses. The first set of keywords determine
 what, if anything, is ignored during file comparison; the second set
 of keywords determine whether or not ignored characters are included
 in the output:

 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | BLANK_LINES     | Blank lines between data lines         |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | COMMENTS        | Data following a comment character     |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | FORM_FEEDS      | Form feed character                    |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | HEADER[=n]      | First n records of the file,           |
 |                 | beginning with a record whose first    |
 |                 | character is a form feed.  The  first  |
 |                 | record is not ignored if the only      |
 |                 | character it contains is a  form       |
 |                 | feed.  (N indicates the number of      |
 |                 | records and defaults to 2.  A  record  |
 |                 | with a single form feed is not         |
 |                 | counted.)                              |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | TRAILING_BLANKS | Space and tab characters at the end of |
 |                 | a data line                            |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | SPACING         | Extra blank spaces or tabs within data |
 |                 | lines                                  |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | EDITED          | Omits ignored characters from the      |
 |                 | output records                         |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | EXACT           | Includes ignored characters in the     |
 |                 | output records                         |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
 | PRETTY          | Formats output records                 |
 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+

 If you specify /PARALLEL, output record are always formatted. To
 format output records, specify:

 +--------------+------------------+
 |   Character  | Formatted Output |
 +--------------+------------------+
 +--------------+------------------+
 | tab          | 1-8 spaces       |
 +--------------+------------------+
 | return       | <CR>             |
 +--------------+------------------+
 | line feed    | <LF>             |
 +--------------+------------------+
 | vertical tab | <VT>             |
 +--------------+------------------+
 | form feed    | <FF>             |
 +--------------+------------------+
 | others       | .                |
 +--------------+------------------+

 Specifies the number of records (n) that should indicate matching data
 after a difference is found; defaults to 3.

 Terminates DIFFERENCES after a specified number of differences (n) is
 found.

 Specifies that the output file contain a merged list of differences
 with the specified number (n) of matched records listed after each
 group of unmatched records. The specified number (n) must be less then
 or equal to the number specified in the /MATCH qualifier; defaults to
 1. If neither /MERGED nor /SEPARATED nor /PARALLEL is specified, the
 resulting output is merged, with one matched record following each
 unmatched record.

 Specifies the format of the output as follows (keywords may be
 abbreviated): ASCII (default), HEXADECIMAL, or OCTAL.

 If you specify only one radix, you can omit the parentheses. If you
 specify /PARALLEL or /SLP, /MODE is ignored.

 /NONUMBER
 Includes line numbers in the listing of differences.

 Specifies an output file to receive the list of differences. If
 /OUTPUT is omitted, the list is written to the terminal. File-spec
 defaults to that of the input1-file with a file type of DIF. No
 wildcards are allowed.

 Lists the records with differences side by side. N specifies the
 number of matched records to merge after each unmatched record. N must
 be less than or equal to the number specified in /MATCH; defaults to
 0.

 Lists only the records from the specified file(s) that contain
 differences. If no files are specified, a separate listing is
 generated for each file. If only one file is specified, you can omit
 the parentheses. To specify input1-file-spec, use either the
 input1-file-spec specified as the DIFFERENCES parameter or the keyword
 MASTER. To specify input2-file-spec, use either the input2-file-spec
 specified as the DIFFERENCES parameter or the keyword REVISION.

 Specifies the width of the lines in the output file. The default is
 132 characters. If output is written to the terminal, /WIDTH is
 ignored and the terminal line width is used.

 Searches the number of records specified (n) before a record is
 declared as unmatched. By default, DIFFERENCES searches to the ends of
 both input files.