<s>
This	O
article	O
compares	O
computer	B-Application
software	I-Application
tools	O
which	O
are	O
used	O
for	O
accomplishing	O
comparisons	O
of	O
files	B-Operating_System
of	O
various	O
types	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
file	O
types	O
addressed	O
by	O
individual	O
file	B-Application
comparison	I-Application
apps	O
varies	O
,	O
but	O
may	O
include	O
text	O
,	O
symbols	O
,	O
images	O
,	O
audio	O
,	O
or	O
video	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
category	O
of	O
software	O
tool	O
is	O
often	O
called	O
"	O
file	B-Application
comparison	I-Application
"	O
or	O
"	O
diff	B-Application
tool	O
"	O
,	O
but	O
those	O
effectively	O
are	O
equivalent	O
terms	O
—	O
where	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
diff	B-Application
"	O
is	O
more	O
commonly	O
associated	O
with	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
diff	B-Application
utility	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
it	O
also	O
may	O
include	O
comparisons	O
between	O
two	O
populations	O
of	O
files	B-Operating_System
,	O
such	O
as	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
comparing	O
directories	B-Application
or	I-Application
folders	I-Application
,	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
file	B-Application
management	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
this	O
might	O
be	O
to	O
detect	O
problems	O
with	O
corrupted	O
backup	O
versions	O
of	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
files	B-Operating_System
...	O
or	O
to	O
validate	O
a	O
package	O
of	O
files	B-Operating_System
is	O
in	O
compliance	O
with	O
standards	O
before	O
publishing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
critical	O
consideration	O
is	O
how	O
the	O
two	O
files	B-Operating_System
being	O
compared	O
must	O
be	O
substantially	O
similar	O
and	O
thus	O
not	O
radically	O
different	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
suggests	O
frequent	O
version	O
saves	O
of	O
a	O
critical	O
document	O
,	O
to	O
better	O
facilitate	O
a	O
file	B-Application
comparison	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
"	O
diff	B-Application
"	O
file	B-Application
comparison	I-Application
tool	O
is	O
a	O
vital	O
time	O
and	O
labor	O
saving	O
utility	O
,	O
because	O
it	O
aids	O
in	O
accomplishing	O
tedious	O
comparisons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Forgery	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fakery	O
,	O
or	O
"	O
deepfake	B-Application
"	O
to	O
impersonate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Uncover	O
removal	O
of	O
watermarks	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Identification	O
of	O
graffiti	B-Application
,	O
tattoo	O
,	O
or	O
other	O
cultural	O
mark	O
with	O
a	O
signature	O
style	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Degradation	O
due	O
to	O
effects	O
of	O
environmental	O
exposure	O
over	O
time	O
,	O
including	O
natural	O
entropy	B-Algorithm
(	O
decline	O
over	O
time	O
)	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Basic	O
general	O
information	O
about	O
file	B-Application
comparison	I-Application
software	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Name	O
Creator	O
FOSS	B-License
Free	O
First	O
public	O
release	O
date	O
Year	O
of	O
latest	O
stable	O
version	O
Windows	O
Macintosh	O
Linux	O
Other	O
platforms	O
Max	O
supported	O
file	O
size	O
Beyond	B-Language
Compare	I-Language
Scooter	O
SoftwareScooter	O
Software	O
;	O
Proprietary	B-Application
1996	O
2023-03-06	O
(	O
v4.4.6	O
)	O
>	O
2GB	O
(	O
64	O
bits	O
)	O
Compare++	B-Application
Coode	O
Software	O
;	O
Proprietary	B-Application
2010	O
2016-7-17	O
(	O
3.0.1.0b	O
)	O
Compare++	B-Application
Operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
information	O
diff	B-Application
,	O
diff3	B-Application
AT&T	O
;	O
BSD	B-Operating_System
3-clause	I-Operating_System
,	O
BSD	B-Operating_System
4-clause	I-Operating_System
,	O
CDDL	B-Application
,	O
GPL	B-License
,	O
Proprietary	B-Application
1974	O
(	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
)	O
ported	O
to	O
most	O
platforms	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
SCCS	B-Device
>	O
2GB	O
but	O
less	O
than	O
64	O
bits	O
Eclipse	B-Application
(	O
compare	O
)	O
;	O
Eclipse	B-License
Public	I-License
License	I-License
2004-07-21	O
2016-09-28	O
(	O
4.6.1	O
(	O
Neon.1	O
)	O
)	O
Anything	O
with	O
Java	B-Language
Ediff	O
Michael	O
KiferMichael	O
Kifer	O
;	O
GPL	B-License
1994	O
2.81.4	O
(	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
)	O
Anything	O
with	O
Emacs	B-Application
and	O
diff	B-Application
ExamDiff	B-Application
Pro	I-Application
PrestoSoftPrestoSoft	O
;	O
Proprietary	B-Application
1998	O
2022-06-04	O
(	O
v	O
12.0.1.22	O
)	O
(	O
WinXP	B-Application
and	O
up	O
)	O
Far	B-Language
Manager	I-Language
(	O
compare	O
)	O
Eugene	O
Roshal	O
(	O
original	O
)	O
;	O
FAR	O
Group	O
;	O
Revised	O
BSD	B-Operating_System
license	I-Operating_System
1996	O
2022-02-02	O
(	O
v3.0	O
build	O
5959	O
)	O
There	O
's	O
a	O
beta-version	O
of	O
far2l	O
,	O
a	O
Linux	O
fork	O
of	O
FAR	B-Language
Manager	I-Language
v2	O
which	O
also	O
works	O
on	O
OSX/MacOS	O
and	O
BSD	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
fc	B-Device
MicrosoftMicrosoft	O
;	O
Proprietary	B-Application
;	O
Part	O
of	O
OS	B-General_Concept
1987	O
(	O
DOS	O
)	O
FileMerge	O
(	O
aka	O
opendiff	O
)	O
Apple	O
Inc	O
.	O
;	O
Proprietary	B-Application
;	O
(	O
part	O
of	O
Apple	B-Operating_System
Developer	I-Operating_System
Tools	I-Operating_System
)	O
1993	O
(	O
part	O
of	O
NEXTSTEP	B-Application
3.2	O
)	O
2014	O
(	O
v2.8	O
)	O
(	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
)	O
FreeFileSync	B-Application
Zenju	O
;	O
GPLv3	B-License
2008	O
2020-12-04	O
(	O
v11.4	O
)	O
Guiffy	B-Application
SureMerge	I-Application
Guiffy	O
SoftwareGuiffy	O
Software	O
;	O
Proprietary	B-Application
2000	O
2022-09-06	O
(	O
v12.1	O
)	O
Anything	O
with	O
Java	B-Language
>	O
2GB	O
IntelliJ	B-Language
IDEA	I-Language
(	O
compare	O
)	O
JetBrainsJetBrains	O
;	O
Proprietary	B-Application
2001	O
2019-08-20	O
(	O
2019.2.1	O
)	O
jEdit	B-Language
JDiff	I-Language
plugin	I-Language
Variousjedit.org	O
;	O
GPL	B-License
1998	O
2020-09-03	O
(	O
5.6.0	O
)	O
Anything	O
with	O
Java	B-Language
Lazarus	B-Language
Diff	B-Application
Lazarus	B-Language
(	O
software	O
)	O
;	O
GPL	B-License
2000	O
2020-07-11	O
(	O
2.0.10	O
)	O
FreeBSD	B-Operating_System
Meld	B-Language
Stephen	O
KennedyStephen	O
Kennedy	O
;	O
GPLv2+	B-License
2002	O
2020-02-16	O
(	O
3.20.2	O
)	O
Meld/Windows	O
BSD	B-Operating_System
,	O
Solaris	B-Application
Notepad++	B-Language
(	O
compare	O
)	O
Various	O
;	O
GPLv3	B-License
2009	O
2015-01-06	O
(	O
1.5.6.6	O
)	O
Notepad++	B-Language
compare	O
plugin	O
Perforce	B-General_Concept
P4Merge	I-General_Concept
Perforce	B-General_Concept
;	O
Proprietary	B-Application
2019	O
(	O
2019.1/1815056	O
)	O
Sun	B-Application
Solaris	I-Application
Pretty	B-Application
Diff	I-Application
Austin	O
CheneyPretty	O
Diff	B-Application
;	O
MIT-compatible	O
2009	O
2019-09-02	O
(	O
101.2.6	O
)	O
(	O
Web	O
)	O
(	O
Web	O
)	O
(	O
Web	O
)	O
Node.js	B-Language
Tkdiff	B-Application
Tkdifftkdiff	O
;	O
GPLv2+	B-License
2003	O
(	O
or	O
before	O
)	O
2021-03-24	O
(	O
v5.2.1	O
)	O
(	O
Tcl	B-Operating_System
)	O
(	O
Tcl	B-Operating_System
)	O
(	O
Tcl	B-Operating_System
)	O
Anything	O
with	O
Tcl	B-Operating_System
Total	B-Language
Commander	I-Language
(	O
compare	O
)	O
Christian	O
GhislerChristian	O
Ghisler	O
;	O
Proprietary	B-Application
2020-03-25	O
(	O
v9.51	O
)	O
twdiff	B-Operating_System
(	O
TextWrangler	B-Operating_System
Diff	B-Application
Helper	O
)	O
Bare	O
Bones	O
Software	O
,	O
Inc.Bare	O
Bones	O
Software	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
;	O
Proprietary	B-Application
;	O
with	O
TextWrangler	B-Operating_System
2012	O
(	O
1.0	O
(	O
v22	O
)	O
)	O
vimdiff	O
Bram	O
Moolenaar	O
et	O
al	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
;	O
GPL-compatible	O
vim	B-Application
license	O
2001	O
2016-10-03	O
(	O
v8.0.0022	O
)	O
Anything	O
with	O
vim	B-Application
WinDiff	B-Application
MicrosoftMicrosoft	O
;	O
Proprietary	B-Application
;	O
Part	O
of	O
Platform	B-Application
SDK	I-Application
1992	O
2010-05-14	O
(	O
v6.1.7716.0	O
)	O
WinMerge	B-Language
Dean	O
GrimmDean	O
Grimm	O
;	O
GPL	B-License
1998	O
2022-01-27	O
(	O
v2.16.18	O
)	O
(	O
Win95	B-Application
and	O
up	O
)	O
(	O
in	O
wineWinMerge	O
in	O
Wine	O
)	O
(	O
in	O
wine	O
)	O
2	O
GB	O
UCC	B-Language
USC	O
CSSE	O
;	O
USC-CSSE	O
Limited	O
Public	O
License	O
2009	O
2015-12-30	O
(	O
2015.12	O
)	O
 { 2.6.9 } 	O
Sun	B-Application
Solaris	I-Application
KDiff3	B-Language
(	O
part	O
of	O
KDE	O
SDK	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
plug-in	O
to	O
KDE	O
Dolphin	O
file	B-Application
manager	I-Application
)	O
Joachim	O
Eibl	O
and	O
KDE	O
SDK	O
KDiff3	B-Language
Team	O
GPL	B-License
v2	O
<	O
2004	O
(	O
v0.9.86	O
)	O
2023-01-13	O
(	O
v1.10	O
)	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
KDevelop	B-Language
SDK	O
download	O
site	O
or	O
from	O
Windows	O
store	O
or	O
download	O
site	O
(	O
most	O
recent	O
version	O
)	O
as	O
separate	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Can	O
be	O
downloaded	O
from	O
SDK	O
download	O
site	O
or	O
as	O
separate	O
stand-alone	O
application	O
from	O
download	O
site	O
Install	O
from	O
your	O
Linux	O
distribution	O
repositories	O
,	O
or	O
as	O
AppStream	O
,	O
from	O
,	O
or	O
as	O
GIT	B-Application
project	O
KDE	O
Gitlab	O
or	O
from/on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Any	O
other	O
Unix	B-Application
with	O
KDE/KF5	O
,	O
Qt5	O
and	O
CMake	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
FreeBSD	B-Operating_System
&	O
NetBSD	B-Device
?	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
files	B-Operating_System
are	O
transferred	O
across	O
time	O
zones	O
and	O
between	O
Microsoft	O
FAT	B-Application
and	O
NTFS	B-Application
file	I-Application
systems	I-Application
,	O
the	O
timestamp	O
displayed	O
by	O
the	O
same	O
file	O
may	O
change	O
,	O
so	O
that	O
identical	O
files	B-Operating_System
with	O
different	O
storage	O
histories	O
are	O
deemed	O
different	O
by	O
a	O
comparer	O
that	O
requires	O
the	O
timestamps	O
to	O
match	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
all	O
,	O
file	B-Application
comparison	I-Application
and	O
synchronisation	O
software	O
can	O
be	O
configured	O
to	O
ignore	O
the	O
DST	O
and	O
time-zone	O
differences	O
.	O
</s>
