The cmp command

The cmp command is used to compare whether there are differences between two files. When the two files being compared are exactly the same, this command will not output any information. If differences are found, it will indicate the first differing character and column number by default. If no file name is specified or the given file name is -, the cmp command will read data from the standard input device.

Syntax

cmp [-clsv][-i <number of characters>][--help][file][file]

Options

  • -c or --print-chars: In addition to indicating the decimal code of the differing character, it also displays the corresponding character.
  • -i <number of characters> or --ignore-initial=<number of characters>: Specify the number of characters to skip.
  • -l or --verbose: Indicate all the differing places.
  • -s or --quiet or --silent: Do not show error messages.
  • -v or --version: Display version information.
  • --help: Online help.

Examples

Compare the differences between the file.txt and file2.txt files. If the files are the same, no message will be displayed; if they are different, the position of the first difference will be shown.

cmp file.txt file2.txt

Compare the differences between the file.txt and file2.txt files and list all the differing places.

cmp -l file.txt file2.txt

Compare the differences between the file.txt and custom input content. Enter the content and press Ctrl+D to output the EOF indicator and end the input.

cmp file.txt -

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Reference

https://man.linuxde.net/cmp https://www.jianshu.com/p/f5963af8d796 https://www.runoob.com/linux/linux-comm-cmp.html
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