Diff::LCS¶ ↑

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diff-lcs.rubyforge.org/

code

github.com/halostatue/diff-lcs

bugs

github.com/halostatue/diff-lcs/issues

rdoc

rubydoc.info/github/halostatue/diff-lcs

Description¶ ↑

Diff::LCS computes the difference between two Enumerable sequences using the McIlroy-Hunt longest common subsequence (LCS) algorithm. It includes utilities to create a simple HTML diff output format and a standard diff-like tool.

This is release 1.2.4, fixing a bug introduced after diff-lcs 1.1.3 that did not properly prune common sequences at the beginning of a comparison set. Thanks to Paul Kunysch for fixing this issue.

Coincident with the release of diff-lcs 1.2.3, we reported an issue with Rubinius in 1.9 mode (rubinius/rubinius#2268). We are happy to report that this issue has been resolved.

Synopsis¶ ↑

Using this module is quite simple. By default, Diff::LCS does not extend objects with the Diff::LCS interface, but will be called as if it were a function:

require 'diff/lcs'

seq1 = %w(a b c e h j l m n p)
seq2 = %w(b c d e f j k l m r s t)

lcs = Diff::LCS.LCS(seq1, seq2)
diffs = Diff::LCS.diff(seq1, seq2)
sdiff = Diff::LCS.sdiff(seq1, seq2)
seq = Diff::LCS.traverse_sequences(seq1, seq2, callback_obj)
bal = Diff::LCS.traverse_balanced(seq1, seq2, callback_obj)
seq2 == Diff::LCS.patch!(seq1, diffs)
seq1 == Diff::LCS.unpatch!(seq2, diffs)
seq2 == Diff::LCS.patch!(seq1, sdiff)
seq1 == Diff::LCS.unpatch!(seq2, sdiff)

Objects can be extended with Diff::LCS:

seq1.extend(Diff::LCS)
lcs = seq1.lcs(seq2)
diffs = seq1.diff(seq2)
sdiff = seq1.sdiff(seq2)
seq = seq1.traverse_sequences(seq2, callback_obj)
bal = seq1.traverse_balanced(seq2, callback_obj)
seq2 == seq1.patch!(diffs)
seq1 == seq2.unpatch!(diffs)
seq2 == seq1.patch!(sdiff)
seq1 == seq2.unpatch!(sdiff)

By requiring ‘diff/lcs/array’ or ‘diff/lcs/string’, Array or String will be extended for use this way.

Note that Diff::LCS requires a sequenced enumerable container, which means that the order of enumeration is both predictable and consistent for the same set of data. While it is theoretically possible to generate a diff for an unordered hash, it will only be meaningful if the enumeration of the hashes is consistent. In general, this will mean that containers that behave like String or Array will perform best.

History¶ ↑

Diff::LCS is a port of Perl’s Algorithm::Diff that uses the McIlroy-Hunt longest common subsequence (LCS) algorithm to compute intelligent differences between two sequenced enumerable containers. The implementation is based on Mario I. Wolczko’s Smalltalk version 1.2 (1993) and Ned Konz’s Perl version Algorithm::Diff 1.15.

This library is called Diff::LCS because of an early version of Algorithm::Diff which was restrictively licensed.

Continuous Integration Status¶ ↑

<img src=“https://travis-ci.org/halostatue/diff-lcs.png” />

:include: Contributing.rdoc

:include: License.rdoc