NAME

       gendiff - utility to aid in error-free diff file generation

SYNOPSIS

       gendiff <directory> <diff-extension>

DESCRIPTION

       gendiff  is  a  rather  simple  script  which aids in generating a diff file from a single
       directory.  It takes a directory name and a "diff-extension" as its only  arguments.   The
       diff extension should be a unique sequence of characters added to the end of all original,
       unmodified files.  The output of the program is a diff file which may be applied with  the
       patch program to recreate the changes.

       The  usual  sequence of events for creating a diff is to create two identical directories,
       make changes in one directory, and  then  use  the  diff  utility  to  create  a  list  of
       differences  between  the  two.  Using gendiff eliminates the need for the extra, original
       and unmodified directory copy.  Instead, only the individual files that are modified  need
       to be saved.

       Before  editing  a  file,  copy  the  file, appending the extension you have chosen to the
       filename.  I.e.  if you were going to edit somefile.cpp  and  have  chosen  the  extension
       "fix",  copy  it  to  somefile.cpp.fix  before  editing  it.   Then  edit  the  first copy
       (somefile.cpp).

       After editing all the files you need to edit in this  fashion,  enter  the  directory  one
       level above where your source code resides, and then type

                  $ gendiff somedirectory .fix > mydiff-fix.patch

       You  should  redirect  the  output  to  a file (as illustrated) unless you want to see the
       results on stdout.

SEE ALSO

       diff(1), patch(1)

AUTHOR

              Marc Ewing <marc@redhat.com>

                                         Mon Jan 10 2000                               GENDIFF(1)