Comparing files.

[C M Reinehr]

On Fri 26 March 2010 10:31:32 am Ben Duncan wrote:
> I need to write a script compare 2 files (Text based)
> an report back that they are the same or they are different.
>
> diff with -s says they are identical, when they are , but shows
> all the different lines when not.
>
> All I need is to show identical or differnet.
>
> Any ideas or other commands ?
>
> Thanks

Ben,

The version of diff (2.8.1) on my system also has an option:
	-q --brief
		Output only whether files differ.

You could also use the cmp command with the silent option:

	-s --quiet --silent
		Output nothing; yield exit status only

Hope this helps.

cmr


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