2 diff Output Formats

diff has several mutually exclusive options for output format. The following sections describe each format, illustrating how diff reports the differences between two sample input files.

• Sample diff Input: Sample diff input files for examples.
• Context: Showing differences with the surrounding text.
• Side by Side: Showing differences in two columns.
• Normal: Showing differences without surrounding text.
• Scripts: Generating scripts for other programs.
• If-then-else: Merging files with if-then-else.