xmldiff(1)

📦 version 3.0, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 xmldiff — like, the manual page, bestie 💖

okay so you found the xmldiff(1) page, and honestly? iconic. this is the whole thing, no skips, no cap. sit down, grab a strawberry 🍓, and let's get into it.

✨ NAME ✨

xmldiff — create a diff for two XML files. yes bestie, that's the whole vibe. 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

xmldiff [-h] [-v] [-f {xml,diff,old}] [-w] [-p] [-F F]
        [--unique-attributes [UNIQUE_ATTRIBUTES]]
        [--ratio-mode {accurate,faster,fast}] [--fast-match]
        file1 file2

literally copy that, swap in your own file1 and file2, and you're already slaying. 🦋

🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

so xmldiff is both a library and a command-line utility for making diffs out of XML. and yeah, at first you're like "bestie, don't we already have diff?" 😭 and the answer is: not like this.

here's the tea ☕ — change detection in hierarchical data is a whole different beast from change detection in flat data. and XML-type formats aren't just for computer-readable data either; they're lowkey often used as a format for hierarchical data that gets rendered into human-readable stuff. so a traditional diff on a format like that would tell you, line by line, what's different — but that would not be readable by a human. like, at all. it's giving chaos.

xmldiff provides tools to make human readable diffs in those exact situations. periodt. 👑

✨ OPTIONS ✨

  • -h, --help — display help and exit. the classic "wait what does this do again" button. 🫶
  • -v, --version — display version and exit. vibe check the build. ⭐
  • -f, --formatter — formatter selection. possible choices: xml, diff, old. default: "diff". pick your aesthetic. 💅
  • -w, --keep-whitespace — do not strip ignorable whitespace. default: False. she keeps the whitespace, she's sentimental. 🥺
  • -p, --pretty-print — try to make XML output more readable. default: False. glow-up for your output. ✨
  • -F — a value between 0 and 1 that determines how similar nodes must be to match. like a compatibility score for nodes, fr fr. 💘
  • --unique-attributes — a comma separated list of attributes that uniquely identify a node. can be empty. unique attributes for certain elements can be specified in the format {NS}element@attr. default: "{http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace}id". this is how the nodes know who's who, iykyk. 🔍
  • --ratio-mode — choose the node comparison optimization. possible choices: accurate, faster, fast. default: "fast". the "accurate / faster / fast" pipeline is such a mood. 🏃♀️💨
  • --fast-match — a faster, less optimal match run. default: False. not perfect, but she's speedy and we respect her. 💀

🌈 EXAMPLE 🌈

the common usage, the everyday slay:

$ xmldiff file1.xml file2.xml

making an output a bit more human readable by structuring it with whitespace:

$ xmldiff -f xml -p file1.xml file2.xml

look at that. gorgeous. no notes. 🎀

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

xmlpatch(1). the sister page. go say hi. 🫶

👑 AUTHOR 👑

xmldiff was written by Lennart Regebro <lregebro@shoobx.com> and Stephan Richter <srichter@shoobx.com>. legends, honestly.

this manual page was written by Thiago Andrade Marques <thmarques@gmail.com> for the Debian project (but may be used by others). we stan a generous queen. 💜

and that's the whole page, bestie! this was xmldiff-2.4, dated 04 Nov 2019 — so like, a little vintage, but still absolutely eating. go diff something pretty. 🌸✨💖

📦 where this page comes from