RCSDIFF(1RCS)           COMMAND REFERENCE           RCSDIFF(1RCS)



NAME
     rcsdiff - compare RCS revisions

SYNOPSIS
     rcsdiff [ -b ] [ -cefhn ] [ -rrev1 ] [ -rrev2 ] filename ...

DESCRIPTION
     Rcsdiff runs diff(1) to compare two revisions of each RCS
     file given.  A file name ending in ,v is an RCS filename,
     otherwise a working filename. Rcsdiff derives the working
     filename from the RCS filename and vice versa, as explained
     in co(1rcs). Pairs consisting of both an RCS and a working
     filename may also be specified.

     The options -b, -c, -e, -f, and -h have the same effect as
     described in diff(1); option -n generates an edit script of
     the format used by RCS.

     If both rev1 and rev2 are omitted, rcsdiff compares the
     latest revision on the trunk with the contents of the
     corresponding working file. This is useful for determining
     what you changed since the last checkin.

     If rev1 is given, but rev2 is omitted, rcsdiff compares
     revision rev1 of the RCS file with the contents of the
     corresponding working file.

     If both rev1 and rev2 are given, rcsdiff compares revisions
     rev1 and rev2 of the RCS file.

     Both rev1 and rev2 may be given numerically or symbolically.

OPTIONS
     -b Causes trailing blanks (spaces and tabs) to be ignored,
        and other strings of blanks to compare equal.

     -c Produces a diff with lines of context.  The default is to
        present three lines of context and may be changed (for
        example, to 10 by -c10).  With -c the output format is
        modified slightly: the output beginning with
        identification of the files involved and their creation
        dates and then each change is separated by a line with a
        dozen *'s.  The lines removed from filename1 are marked
        with a dash (-); those added to filename2 are marked with
        a plus sign (+). Lines which are changed from one file to
        the other are marked in both files with an exclamation
        point (!).

     -e Produces a script of a, c and d commands for the editor
        ed, which will recreate filename2 from filename1.  In
        connection with -e, the following shell program may help
        maintain multiple versions of a file.  Only an ancestral



Printed 4/6/89                                                  1

RCSDIFF(1RCS)           COMMAND REFERENCE           RCSDIFF(1RCS)



        file ($1) and a chain of version-to-version ed scripts
        ($2,$3,...) made by diff need be on hand.  A latest
        version appears on the standard output.

          (shift; cat $*; echo '1,$p') | ed - $1

        Extra commands are added to the output when comparing
        directories with -e, so that the result is a sh(1sh)
        script for converting text files which are common to the
        two directories from their state in dir1 to their state
        in dir2.

     -f Produces a script similar to that of -e, not useful with
        ed, and in the opposite order.

     -h Does a fast, half-hearted job.  It works only when
        changed stretches are short and well separated, but does
        work on files of unlimited length.

     -n Generates an edit script of the format used by RCS.

     -rrev1
        Revision rev1 is the first revision used in the compare.
        Defaults to the latest revision on the trunk.

     -rrev2
        Revision rev2 is the second revision used in the compare.
        Defaults to the current working version.

EXAMPLES
     The following command shows differences between the file f.c
     and the current revision of the RCS file f.c,v:

          rcsdiff f.c


RETURN VALUE
     [NO_ERRS]      Command completed without error.

     [NP_ERR]       An error occurred that was not a system
                    error.  Execution terminated.

CAVEATS
     Rcsdiff uses modified versions of diff(1) and diff3(1),
     which must be maintained separately. These programs are
     contained in the directory /usr/lib, and are called rdiff
     and rdiff3.

     The maximum number of revisions that can be stored in a
     single RCS file is 719. When there are more than 700
     revisions in a file, a warning message is printed on the
     terminal (if possible) every time an RCS command works on



Printed 4/6/89                                                  2

RCSDIFF(1RCS)           COMMAND REFERENCE           RCSDIFF(1RCS)



     the file. See the manual page for rcsfile(5rcs) for
     information on what action to take in this case.

     On older versions of RCS, the maximum number of revisions
     that can be stored in a single RCS file is 239.  No warning
     message is displayed on the terminal if this number is
     exceeded.

SEE ALSO
     ci(1rcs), co(1rcs), diff(1), ident(1rcs), rlog(1rcs),
     rcs(1rcs), rcsintro(1rcs), rcsmerge(1rcs), and
     rcsfile(5rcs).











































Printed 4/6/89                                                  3

%%index%%
na:384,83;
sy:467,378;
de:845,1784;
op:2629,1384;4469,1394;
ex:5863,243;
rv:6106,288;
ca:6394,651;7501,338;
se:7839,402;
%%index%%000000000154