Diff is used to get a file of all differences between two
source files/trees (sometimes called a patch). The diff tool
isn't needed for building Wireshark, but it's needed if you are
going to commit your changes back to the Wireshark
community.
4.13.1. UNIX or Win32 Cygwin: GNU diff
Diff is available for most of the UNIX-like platforms
and as the diffutils package from the
Cygwin setup.
If GNU diff isn't already installed or
available as a package for your platform, you can get it at:
https://www.gnu.org/software/diffutils/diffutils.html.
After correct installation, typing at the
bash command line prompt:
$
diff --version
should result in something like:
diff (GNU diffutils) 2.8.7
Written by Paul Eggert, Mike Haertel, David Hayes,
Richard Stallman, and Len Tower.
Copyright (C) 2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
However, the version string may vary.
4.13.2. Win32 native: diff
A native Win32 diff package can be obtained from
https://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/. The
installation should be straightforward.
The Subversion client TortoiseSVN has a built-in diff
feature, see
Section 4.12.2, “Win32 native: TortoiseSVN”. It is currently unknown
if this tool can be used to
create diff files in the required format, so other persons
can use them.
![[Note]](wsdg_graphics/note.png)
