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From: mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON)
Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards
Subject: Re: executable file diff
Message-ID: <431@mhuxr.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 12-Sep-85 21:20:03 EDT
Article-I.D.: mhuxr.431
Posted: Thu Sep 12 21:20:03 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 13-Sep-85 05:12:59 EDT
References: <289@rruxe.UUCP> <416@ttrdc.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
Lines: 16

> If you are just interested in knowing if they are the same or not (without
> wanting to know WHAT is different) first check the obvious--are they the same
> size (as told by ls -l at first, then via the size command)?  Warning--if one
> of the files is "stripped" and the other is not (use the "file" command to
> determine this) make a stripped copy of the one that is not and use that to
> compare with the other.   This test passed, try the "sum" command on both
> the files which should come up with identical checksums if they are the same.
> If you are REALLY paranoid, do an "od" on each one, save the results, and do
> a conventional "diff" between those results.
> 
>         dan levy 

You could also use the cmp(1) command, which does a byte by byte compare
of the two files. Sounds easier to me.

Marcel Simon