h5diff(1)

💖 h5diff — like, the diff tool but for HDF5 files 💖

okay bestie, welcome to the h5diff(1) page from the General Commands Manual 🎀 no cap, this one's a whole vibe: it's the little command-line icon that peeks inside two HDF5 files and tells you everything that's different between them. let's get into it 💅

✨ NAME ✨

h5diff — compares two HDF5 files and reports the differences. that's it, that's the whole job, and it ate 🫶

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

h5diff file1 file2 [OPTIONS] [object1 [object2 ] ]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so h5diff is a command line tool that compares two HDF5 files, file1 and file2, and reports the differences between them. literally its entire main character arc 💫

optionally, h5diff will compare two objects within these files. here's the tea:

• if only one object, object1, is specified, h5diff will compare object1 in file1 with object1 in file2. same name, both files, cute.
• if two objects, object1 and object2, are specified, h5diff will compare object1 in file1 with object2 in file2. cross-file matching, we love to see it ✨

heads up bestie: these objects must be HDF5 datasets. no substitutes, periodt.

also, object1 and object2 must be expressed as absolute paths from the respective file's root group. absolute, not relative, iykyk 🧚

if you want additional information, with several sample cases, it can be found in the document H5diff Examples. go read it, it's giving study guide 📚

👑 OPTIONS 👑

• file1 file2 — the HDF5 files to be compared. the two besties getting the vibe check 🫶
• -h — print all differences. every single one. no holding back 💀
• -r — print only the names of objects that differ; do not print the differences. these objects may be HDF5 datasets, groups, or named datatypes. just the receipts, not the drama 🙈
• -n count — print difference up to count differences, then stop. count must be a positive integer. know your limit, stay within it ⭐
• -d delta — print only differences that are greater than the limit delta. delta must be a positive number. the comparison criterion is whether the absolute value of the difference of two corresponding values is greater than delta (e.g., |a-b| > delta, where a is a value in file1 and b is a value in file2). tiny diffs? not invited to the party 🎀
• -p relative — print only differences that are greater than a relative error. relative must be a positive number. the comparison criterion is whether the absolute value of the difference 1 and the ratio of two corresponding values is greater than relative (e.g., |1-(b/a)| > relative where a is a value in file1 and b is a value in file2). proportional queen 👑
• object1 object2 — specific object(s) within the files to be compared. pick your fighters 🌈

🔥 EXAMPLES 🔥

the following h5diff call compares the object /a/b in file1 with the object /a/c in file2:

h5diff file1 file2 /a/b /a/c

this h5diff call compares the object /a/b in file1 with the same object in file2:

h5diff file1 file2 /a/b

and this h5diff call compares all objects in both files:

h5diff file1 file2

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

h5dump(1), h5ls(1), h5repart(1), h5import(1), gif2h5(1), h52gif(1), h5perf(1)

go say hi to the whole friend group, they're all iconic 🌈

and that's the whole h5diff(1) page from the General Commands Manual, bestie — you're officially fluent 💅✨ slay, go diff something, and remember: absolute paths only, objects must be datasets, and every detail above is the real deal, no cap 🫶💖