Forums >Off the Beaten Path>file differencing / patch / change log
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i am differencing 2 sets of xml and it's rather tedious by hand. anyone know of a patch or change log creator that will run in batch mode? i am using winmerge, but i cannot get it to run in batch for the entire directories. i have to do it file by file. i tried a little program called genpat from www.tibed.net/vpatch/. it's probably just installed a virus on my machine or something, but it did result in a patch file in batch mode... only problem was the patch file was some sort of compiled format for use with vpatch. i just need a differences list or change log for the two sets of xml in a human-readable text file.
ideas? hmmm?
i find the sunshine beckons me to open up the gate and dream and dream ~~robbie williams
an amazing likeness
Check out www.altova.com -- xmlspy and their other tools.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
thanks, mt, but i don't think that will do it. i am investingating, but i don't think xmlspy does the detailed output i am looking for.
i contacted a developer of what i thought was a promising solution - vpatch - and got this response:
VPatch is for creating patches between binary files. It can also do text files, but does not generate readable output. For that kind of output for differences between text files, look for the "diff" command of Linux (which you can also find Cygwin binaries for).
cygwin binaries? isn't that a character in lord of the rings?
sheesh. all's i want is a report that details the difference lines. "can also do text files, but does not generate readable output." so close! but, you know, human readable is all the rage these days.
so - i'm looking for something like vpatch, and okay, i do know what a cygwin binary is but wouldn't know how to use it. i am unfamiliar with linux as a whole, having only used ubuntu a few times.
anyone feel like coding me up a solution real quick? hmmm?
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cygwin is a way to run unix stuff on windows.
It has a setup.exe program you download and run to install it.
The basic installation -- which will take a while -- probably includes both diff and patch programs.
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
OK, let me see if I am understanding your requirements completely and correctly.
You need to compare two XML files and create a text file that lists the differences in a human-readable format (I am assuming by "human-readable format" you mean something like a list or table structure, and not XML itself).
The process needs to run in batch mode. What, specifically, do you mean by "batch mode"?
so, we're for sure here that cygwin's not a hobbit? okay. i shall locate, retrieve, and install mighty cygwin forthwith!
Or there are individual command binaries in the gnuwin32 project: http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages.html
OK, let me see if I am understanding your requirements completely and correctly. You need to compare two XML files and create a text file that lists the differences in a human-readable format (I am assuming by "human-readable format" you mean something like a list or table structure, and not XML itself). The process needs to run in batch mode. What, specifically, do you mean by "batch mode"?
hey, scout --
by "batch" i mean "more than one file at a time". i have two folders with 84 files in each. old here, new there, need a complete list of the changes to each old-new pair. XML output is fine. what won't work is what i got from vpatch -- compiled code of some sort, symbols and all. would be great if i could just point to the folders and wah-lah, get a report, but so far i have not been able to find a solution. i use codewright as the text editor for the XML, and it can do directory differencing, with a display output that shows the difference lines. it's also meant to create an output report, but the DiffTextReport API is missing from my installation and codewright's no longer supported.
Wafflepants...apologies for being so specific to just one product -- did you happen to see DiffDog while at their website?
Note, I have not used these, but perhaps these might be something to consider:
ExamDiff
Salamander
i did not really look too closely, o milky one, because there were price tags on everything. this hobbit stuff is free! i am downloading from a site called "hoobly.com". seriously? hoobly?
thanks, scout - i will check those out.
hoobly!