Problem with diff

Shell Programming and Scripting
1

I am using the diff command, but i cant figure out why it is displaying these strange numbers and letters

diff spellExample spellExample.bak

1c1
< I went to a garden party
---
> I went to a gadren party
3c3
< bunch of my old friends did something
---
> bnuch of my old freinds did somehting
6d5

i understand what each of the < line are showing, but i don't know what the 1c1 ect are?

2

There are spelling differences in lines 1 and 3. Line 6 is not on the other file.

1 Like
3

Hi.

Often with GNU/Linux, one can read info files:

File: diff.info,  Node: Detailed Normal,  Next: Example Normal,  Up: Normal

2.2.1 Detailed Description of Normal Format
-------------------------------------------

The normal output format consists of one or more hunks of differences;
each hunk shows one area where the files differ.  Normal format hunks
look like this:

     CHANGE-COMMAND
     < FROM-FILE-LINE
     < FROM-FILE-LINE...
     ---
     > TO-FILE-LINE
     > TO-FILE-LINE...

   There are three types of change commands ...

-- excerpt from  info diff

Best wishes ... cheers, drl