comp(CMD) 19 June 1992 comp(CMD) Name comp - compare the contents of two files or sets of files byte by byte Syntax comp [data1] [data2] [/d] [/a] [/l] [/n=number] [/c] Description comp can compare files on the same drive or on different drives, in the same directory or in different directories. As comp compares the files, it displays their locations and filenames. Parameters data1 Specifies the location and name of the first file or set of files you want to compare. You can use wildcards (* and ?) to specify multiple files. data2 Specifies the location and name of the second file or set of files you want to compare. You can use wildcards (* and ?) to specify multiple files. Switches /d Displays differences in decimal format. (The default format is hexadecimal.) /a Displays differences as characters. /l Displays the number of the line on which a difference occurs, instead of displaying the byte offset. /n=number Compares the first number of lines of both files, even if the files are different sizes. /c Performs a comparison that is not case-sensitive. Notes Comparing files with the same names The files you want to compare can have the same filename, provided they are in different directories or on different drives. If you do not specify a filename for data2, the default filename for data2 is the same as the filename in data1. You can use wildcards (* and ?) to specify filenames. Special cases for data1 and data2 If you omit necessary components of either data1 or data2 or if you omit data2, comp prompts you for the missing information. If data1 contains only a drive letter or a directory name with no filename, the default filename for data1 is *.*. Therefore, comp compares all the files in the specified directory to the file specified in data2. If data2 contains only a drive letter or a directory name, the default filename for data2 is the same as that in data1. How the comp command identifies mismatching information During the comparison, comp displays messages to identify the locations of unequal information in the two files. Each message indicates the offset memory address of the unequal bytes and the contents of the bytes themselves (in hexadecimal notation unless you specify the /a or /d switch). The message has the following format: Compare error at OFFSET xxxxxxxx file1 = xx file2 = xx After 10 unequal comparisons, comp stops comparing the files and displays the following message: 10 Mismatches - ending compare Comparing files of different sizes You cannot compare files of different sizes unless you specify the /n switch. If the file sizes are different, comp displays the following message: Files are different sizes Compare more files (Y/N)? Press Y to compare another pair of files. Press N to stop the comp com- mand. If you press Y in response to the prompt, comp includes any switches you specified on the command line in every comparison it makes, until you press N or retype the command. When comparing files of different sizes, use the /n switch to compare only the first portion of each file. Comparing files sequentially If you use wildcards to specify multiple files, comp finds the first file matching data1 and compares it with the corresponding file in data2, if it exists. comp reports the results of the comparison, then does the same for each file matching data1. When finished, comp displays the fol- lowing message: Compare more files (Y/N)? To compare more files, press Y. comp prompts you for the locations and names of the new files. To stop the comparisons, press N. When you press Y, comp prompts you for switches to use. If you do not specify any switches, comp uses the ones you specified before. If comp cannot find the files If comp cannot find the file(s) you specify, it prompts you with a mes- sage to determine whether you want to compare more files. Related commands For information about comparing the contents of two floppy disks, see the diskcomp(CMD) command. For information about doing a complete comparison of two files of dif- ferent sizes, see the fc(CMD) command.