Meld - file comparison tool

[Frank Cox]

I've been using this tool for years and it occurs to me that some of you folks might find it useful as well:

http://meldmerge.org/

It allows two or three-way file comparisons (and now directory comparisons too) so you can easily find the differences between versions of whatever you happen to be interested in. I've used it for everything from comparing installed programs on various computers to figuring out what I need to fix when ssh, apache or icecast gets updated.

meld-filediff-full.png

[Marcel Birgelen]

So, it's a somewhat graphical incarnation of diff?
Does it produce "diff-compatible'" delta files?

[Frank Cox]

1. Yes, but it's easier to use and a lot prettier than vimdiff, which is my other go-to file comparison thing.

2. I'm not actually sure but I don't think it does that. I've always just used diff to create patch files. That's an automatic process -- there's no need for a pretty gui so I don't know why anyone would want to use it that way.