diffutils: Detailed diff3 Normal
7.3 Detailed Description of 'diff3' Normal Format
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Each hunk begins with a line marked '===='. Three-way hunks have plain
'====' lines, and two-way hunks have '1', '2', or '3' appended to
specify which of the three input files differ in that hunk. The hunks
contain copies of two or three sets of input lines each preceded by one
or two commands identifying where the lines came from.
Normally, two spaces precede each copy of an input line to
distinguish it from the commands. But with the '--initial-tab' ('-T')
option, 'diff3' uses a tab instead of two spaces; this lines up tabs
correctly. ⇒Tabs, for more information.
Commands take the following forms:
'FILE:La'
This hunk appears after line L of file FILE, and contains no lines
in that file. To edit this file to yield the other files, one must
append hunk lines taken from the other files. For example, '1:11a'
means that the hunk follows line 11 in the first file and contains
no lines from that file.
'FILE:Rc'
This hunk contains the lines in the range R of file FILE. The
range R is a comma-separated pair of line numbers, or just one
number if there is only one line. To edit this file to yield the
other files, one must change the specified lines to be the lines
taken from the other files. For example, '2:11,13c' means that the
hunk contains lines 11 through 13 from the second file.
If the last line in a set of input lines is incomplete (⇒
Incomplete Lines), it is distinguished on output from a full line by a
following line that starts with '\'.
Info Catalog
diffutils: Example diff3 Normal
diffutils: Comparing Three Files
diffutils: diff3 Hunks