COMP + Comparing Files

Compares the contents of two files.

VERSION

PC-DOS 2.0+ (revised from 1.0)

MS-DOS equivalent: FILCOM (2.0+); COMP (1.0)

TYPE

External

SYNTAX

[d:][path] COMP [pd:][ppath][pfilename]

[sd:][spath][sfilename]

OPTIONS

[d:][path] Specifies the drive letter and

path that contain the COMP

command file.

[pd:][ppath][pfilename] Specifies the first file or

set of files that you wish to

compare (primary file).

[sd:][spath][sfilename] Specifies the second file or

set of files that you wish to

compare (secondary file).

COMP allows you to see whether two files are identical, such

as comparing a file to its backed-up version saved under a

different name.

EXAMPLE

COMP B:TEST.TXT C:TEST.TXT

compares the TEST.TXT file on drive B with the TEST.TXT file on

drive C.

MESSAGES

Compare error at offset XXXXXXXX

File 1 = YY

File 2 = ZZ

The XXXXXXXXth byte in the first file does not match the

corresponding byte in the second file. The two bytes (XX and ZZ)

are displayed in hexadecimal notation.

Compare more files (Y/N)?

Enter Y to compare additional files.

EOF mark not found

COMP could not find the end of valid data. Many text files do

not end with Ctrl-Z. The message may be innocuous.

Files are different sizes.

COMP will only compare files that are of the same size.

File sharing conflict

One of the files that is being comapred is currently being used

by another process. Try again later.

10 Mismatches- -ending compare

Ten mismatched locations were found in the compared files.

NOTE

Version 2 allows you to use the *.* wildcard pattern to

check all of the files on a disk. DISKCOMP is faster for

comparing two disks, however. In many versions of MS-DOS, the

command FILCOMP provides additional information about how files

differ. See the appropriate user's manual for manufacturer-

specific alternatives.

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