GNU bug report logs - #43923
"only in" message in recursive diff is ambiguous and hence useless if the directories have the same name

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: php fan <php4fan <at> gmail.com>
To: bug-diffutils <at> gnu.org
Subject: "only in" message in recursive diff is ambiguous and hence useless if
 the directories have the same name
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 2020 15:52:52 +0200

Steps to reproduce:

- have two folders with the same name under different paths such as
/path/to/xxx and /path/to/other/xxx
- Have some files that exist only in one folder, and some that exist
only in the other
- Run:

$ diff -r /path/to/xxx /path/to/other/xxx

You'll get messages like:
  Only in xxx: somefile.txt
  Only in xxx: otherfile.php

You see the problem, right? How stupid is that.


$diff --version
diff (GNU diffutils) 3.7

Message #8 received at 43923 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu>
To: php fan <php4fan <at> gmail.com>
Cc: 43923 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: [bug-diffutils] bug#43923: "only in" message in recursive diff is
 ambiguous and hence useless if the directories have the same name
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 2020 13:25:59 -0700

On 10/11/20 6:52 AM, php fan wrote:
> - have two folders with the same name under different paths such as
> /path/to/xxx and /path/to/other/xxx
> - Have some files that exist only in one folder, and some that exist
> only in the other
> - Run:
> 
> $ diff -r /path/to/xxx /path/to/other/xxx
> 
> You'll get messages like:
>    Only in xxx: somefile.txt
>    Only in xxx: otherfile.php
> 
> You see the problem, right?

I don't see the problem with diffutils 3.7:

$ mkdir -p path/to/xxx path/to/other/xxx
$ touch path/to/xxx/a path/to/other/xxx/b
$ diff -r path/to/xxx path/to/other/xxx
Only in path/to/xxx: a
Only in path/to/other/xxx: b

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