bdiff(1)							      bdiff(1)

NAME
       bdiff - diff for large files

SYNOPSIS
       file1 file2 [n]

DESCRIPTION
       compares	 two files and produces output identical to what would be pro‐
       duced by (see diff(1)), specifying changes that must be	made  to  make
       the files identical.  is designed for handling files that are too large
       for but it can be used on files of any length.

       processes files as follows:

	      ·	 Ignore lines common to the beginning of both files.

	      ·	 Split the remainder of each file into n-line  segments,  then
		 execute on corresponding segments.  The default value of n is
		 3500.

   Command-Line Arguments
       recognizes the following command-line arguments:

	      file1
	      file2	  Names of two files to be compared  by	 If  file1  or
			  file2	 (but  not  both)  is  standard	 input is used
			  instead.

	      n		  If a numeric value is present as the third argument,
			  the  files  are  divided into n-line segments before
			  processing by Default value for  n  is  3500.	  This
			  option  is  useful  when  3500-line segments are too
			  large for processing by

	      Silent option suppresses diagnostic printing by
			  but does not suppress possible error	messages  from
			  If the n and arguments are both used, the n argument
			  must precede the option on the command  line	or  it
			  will not be properly recognized.

EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
   Environment Variables
       determines the language in which messages are displayed.

       If  is  not specified in the environment or is set to the empty string,
       the value of is used as a default for each unspecified or  empty	 vari‐
       able.   If is not specified or is set to the empty string, a default of
       "C" (see lang(5)) is used instead of

       If any  internationalization  variable  contains	 an  invalid  setting,
       behaves	as  if all internationalization variables are set to "C".  See
       environ(5).

   International Code Set Support
       Single- and multi-byte character code sets are supported.

DIAGNOSTICS
       Standard input was specified for both files.
		 Only one file can be specified as standard input.

       A non-numeric value was specified for the
		 n (third) argument.

EXAMPLES
       Find differences between two large files: and and place the result in a
       new file named

       Do  the	same, but limit file length to 1400 lines; suppress error mes‐
       sages:

WARNINGS
       produces output identical to output from and makes the necessary	 line-
       number  corrections  so	that the output looks like it was processed by
       However, depending on where the files are split, may or may not find  a
       fully minimized set of file differences.

FILES
SEE ALSO
       diff(1).

								      bdiff(1)

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