zdiff

The command line tool "zdiff" is a Unix utility that is used to compare and highlight differences between compressed files. It is mainly used to compare the contents of two compressed files in gzip, compress, or bzip2 format.

When executed, zdiff decompresses both files, compares them line by line, and prints the differences. It is particularly useful when comparing large compressed files or when comparing compressed files with their original uncompressed versions.

The zdiff command provides various options to customize its behavior, such as ignoring leading or trailing white spaces, ignoring case sensitivity, or printing only the differing parts rather than the entire files.

It uses the "diff" utility internally to perform the comparison and utilizes the same syntax and options as the "diff" command. This makes it easy for users familiar with the "diff" command to quickly start using zdiff.

Typically, zdiff is used in conjunction with the compression utilities like gzip, compress, or bzip2 to compare the differences between the compressed versions of files.

The output of zdiff includes information about the line numbers and the specific differences between the files, providing a clear visual representation of the discrepancies.

It also supports the ability to compare directories, recursively comparing files within the directories and displaying the differences.

Aside from comparing compressed files, zdiff can also be used to compare regular text files, as it automatically decompresses the files before comparing them.

The zdiff command is a part of the "diffutils" package in most Unix-like operating systems and is easy to install and use.

Overall, zdiff is a powerful command line tool that makes it easy to compare and identify differences between compressed files or directories.