Text Diff (Difference)

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).