Diff tools highlight what changed between text versions for review and merging.
Diff formats
- Unified diff: +/- lines with context (Git default).
- Context diff: Before/after sections with ! markers.
- Side-by-side: Two-column comparison.
- Inline/word diff: Character-level changes within lines.
Common diff notation
- Lines starting with - (removed).
- Lines starting with + (added).
- Lines starting with @ (chunk headers).
- Unchanged lines for context.
Use cases
- Code review in pull requests.
- Document version comparison.
- Configuration file changes.
- Merge conflict resolution.
- Backup verification.
Tools
- Git diff, diff command (Unix).
- IDE built-in comparison.
- Online diff checkers.
- Merge tools (Beyond Compare, Meld).
Advanced features
- Ignore whitespace changes.
- Word/character-level granularity.
- Three-way merge (base, theirs, yours).
- Syntax-aware diffing (for code).
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