NAME

       rdiff - compute and apply signature-based file differences

SYNOPSYS

       rdiff [options] signature old-file signature-file

       rdiff [options] delta signature-file new-file delta-file

       rdiff [options] patch old-file delta-file new-file

USAGE

       You  can  use  rdiff  to update files, much like rsync does.  However, unlike rsync, rdiff
       puts you in control.  There are three steps to updating  a  file:  signature,  delta,  and
       patch.  Use the signature subcommand to generate a small signature-file from the old-file.
       Use the delta subcommand to generate a small delta-file from  the  signature-file  to  the
       new-file.  Use  the patch subcommand to apply the delta-file to the old-file to regenerate
       the new-file.

DESCRIPTION

       In every case where a filename must be specified, - may be used  instead  to  mean  either
       standard  input  or  standard output as appropriate.  Be aware that if you do this, you'll
       need to terminate your options with -- or rdiff will think you are  passing  it  an  empty
       option.

RETURN VALUE

       0  for  successful  completion,  1  for  environmental  problems  (file not found, invalid
       options, IO error, etc), 2 for a corrupt file and 3 for an  internal  error  or  unhandled
       situation in librsync or rdiff.

SEE ALSO

       librsync(3)

AUTHOR

       Martin Pool <mbp@sourcefrog.net>

       The original rsync algorithm was discovered by Andrew Tridgell.

       rdiff development has been supported by Linuxcare, Inc and VA Linux Systems.

                                              $Date$                                     rdiff(1)