BSDIFF(1) |
FreeBSD General Commands Manual |
BSDIFF(1) |
NAME
bsdiff —
generate a patch between two binary files
SYNOPSIS
bsdiff |
oldfile newfile patchfile |
DESCRIPTION
The
bsdiff utility compares
oldfile to
newfile and writes to
patchfile a binary patch suitable for use by
bspatch(1). When
oldfile and
newfile are two versions of an executable program, the patches produced are on average a factor of five smaller than those produced by any other binary patch tool known to the author.
The bsdiff utility uses memory equal to 17 times the size of oldfile, and requires an absolute minimum working set size of 8 times the size of oldfile.
AUTHORS
Colin Percival <cperciva@FreeBSD.org>
BUGS
The
bsdiff utility does not store the hashes of
oldfile or
newfile in
patchfile. As a result, it is possible to apply a patch to the wrong file; this will usually produce garbage. It is recommended that users of
bsdiff store the hashes of
oldfile and
newfile and compare against them before and after applying
patchfile.