From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: dkcombs@panix.com (David Combs) Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: how to highlight fine differences in Diff mode? Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2006 01:38:36 +0000 (UTC) Organization: Public Access Networks Corp. Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1136598410 2185 80.91.229.2 (7 Jan 2006 01:46:50 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2006 01:46:50 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sat Jan 07 02:46:48 2006 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by ciao.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1Ev3AG-0007VL-V4 for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sat, 07 Jan 2006 02:46:41 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1Ev39j-0000hl-TV for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Fri, 06 Jan 2006 20:46:07 -0500 Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news.uchicago.edu!yellow.newsread.com!netaxs.com!newsread.com!panix!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help Original-Lines: 71 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: panix1.panix.com Original-X-Trace: reader2.panix.com 1136597916 21368 166.84.1.1 (7 Jan 2006 01:38:36 GMT) Original-X-Complaints-To: abuse@panix.com Original-NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2006 01:38:36 +0000 (UTC) X-Newsreader: trn 4.0-test76 (Apr 2, 2001) Original-Xref: shelby.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:136897 Original-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:32516 Archived-At: In article , Drew Adams wrote: > But sometimes I have to compare extremely large files, larger than Emacs > maximum buffer size. So I simply run diff and redirect its output to a > .diff file, which is easily small enought to visit and navigate in Diff > mode. What I'd like at that point is a command to highlight the changed > text within the current hunk, just like "*" does in Ediff: > > ,----[ C-h k * ] > | * runs the command ediff-make-or-kill-fine-diffs > | which is an interactive compiled Lisp function in `ediff-util'. > | (ediff-make-or-kill-fine-diffs ARG) > | > | Compute fine diffs. With negative prefix arg, kill fine diffs. > | In both cases, operates on the current difference region. > `---- > > Is there any way to take advantage of the Ediff machinery inside > Diff mode? > >I don't have an answer for you, unfortunately. I do have some code that >improves the highlighting of regular `diff' output slightly: >http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/diff-mode-.el, but it doesn't do what >you're asking. > > > 1: "diff-mode": never heard of it. Yes, there is one in the lisp subdirectory, at least of 22.0.50.1 (old) cvs. 2: So, I suppose the diff-mode.el in the wiki, vs the one that comes "in the box", have no relation to each other. (Well, at least the on in the lisp dir says nothing about "drew adams".) 3: not seeing much doc in the built-in one (or in info, either), what does diff-mode enable me to do (easily) that ediff-mode doesn't? 4: In fact, are the two packages (for lack of better word) based on different concepts of what a "diff in emacs" should do? 5: Here's the tail end of the info-node "comparing files": Differences between versions of files are often distributed as "patches", which are the output from `diff' or a version control system that uses `diff'. `M-x diff-mode' turns on Diff mode, a major mode for viewing and editing patches, either as "unified diffs" or "context diffs." You can use `M-x smerge-mode' to turn on Smerge mode, a minor mode for editing output from the `diff3' program. This is typically the result of a failed merge from a version control system "update" outside VC, due to conflicting changes to a file. Smerge mode provides commands to resolve conflicts by selecting specific changes. See also *Note Emerge::, and *Note Top: (ediff)Top, for convenient facilities for merging two similar files. Sure doesn't say much about diff-mode -- and suggests looking at ediff ONLY IF YOU NEED TO *MERGE* FILES. Methinks ediff has more uses than that???? David