ESPDIFF(1)

📦
version 0.4.5 · 2 versions
, in alpine 3.22, alpine 3.23, alpine 3.24, arch rolling, centos-stream 10, centos-stream 9, fedora 43, fedora 44, opensuse-leap 16.0

💫 ESPDIFF(1) — the espdiff manual, but make it make sense 💫

okay so bestie, gather round, because this is espdiff from the patchutils corner of the universe, and she is a lot. It's a section 1 manual page. It's giving ✨mystical✨. It's giving "I read the source code and also the vibes". Let's get into it. 🦋

🌸 NAME 🌸

espdiff — apply the appropriate transformation to a set of patches

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

espdiff [--deep-brainwave-mode] [--recurse] [--compare] [file...]

espdiff {[--help] | [--version]}

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

So like, espdiff applies the appropriate transformation to a patch or a whole set of patches, and which transformation it picks depends entirely on what you intend to accomplish. Yes. It reads your intentions. That's the bit. 🙈

Your input patches have to be “clean” — meaning they apply with no fuzz and no offsets, in whichever order they were meant to be applied. That's non-negotiable, okay?

The one exception is if you actually want espdiff to clean them up for you. In which case… good luck. 😭 Genuinely, good luck. no cap.

Pro tip from the manpage itself, and I am not making this up: you may find it useful to cross your fingers while the program does its thing. Or, alternatively, screw your eyes tight shut while imagining it doing the right thing. Both are valid. Pick your fighter. 💅

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • --deep-brainwave-mode — probes your brain deeply. Takes longer, yeah, but the extra sensory results are better. It's giving sacrifice-a-little-time-for-a-little-magic. 🔮
  • --recurse — recurses your neural pathways through literally all parts of the brain, and in some cases it determines code changes you might make far off in the future. You may feel a gentle tickling sensation while using this option. That's normal. That's the feature. 🧚
  • --compare — lets the program scan the current directory, peek at the existing patches, figure out which areas of code you're likely to change again, and then concentrate on those areas more closely. It's studying you. Respectfully. 👀
  • --help — shows a short usage message. The classic. The icon. 👑
  • --version — prints the version number of espdiff. 🏷️

💀 LIMITATIONS 💀

Okay listen, there are rules:

  • Do not use this program while sleep-walking. 🛌
  • Do not use this program before your first cup of coffee. ☕

And there are some cases where it is simply not possible to determine what the intention of the user is. Like, the vibes are unreadable. In those cases, here's what you do: construct the output you desire using an editor, then send the input files together with the desired output file to Tim Waugh <twaugh@redhat.com> and ask for a new diff tool. That's the whole protocol. That's the escalation path. 📨

🫶 AUTHORS 🫶

  • Tim Waugh <twaugh@redhat.com> — Package maintainer 💖
  • Mike Harris <mharris@redhat.com> — Conceptual designer 🌈

🌟 SEE ALSO 🌟

the rest of the patchutils family, bestie — this one doesn't list anyone, it's an only child in this page, and that's on periodt 💅

and that's the whole page, mwah 💋

This one came out of patchutils, dated 5 March 2003, and it lives at ESPDIFF(1) in the man pages. Slay, stay caffeinated, don't sleep-walk with your patches, bye bestie 🎀✨

📦 where this page comes from