Comparing 2 Text files ???

[Lyla]

Hi all,

Is there a way to compare 2 text file that are approx. 5 MB
in size , and are supposed to be identical!

I want to find the differences only?

Thanx for reading an helping.

You could input the text files line by line, into two dynamic arrays, then use InStr in a loop to compare the two arrays record by record.

Any results from Instr could be recorded to a log file with the array number (ie line number).

Theres probably a better way but this way is fairly stright forward!!

mafro

[HarryW]

Hehe, you can do that in one line from the DOS prompt

fc textfil1.txt textfil2.txt > textdiff.txt

It's a DOS utility called file compare. It comes with the OS. That will compare the two text files and put the different bits into the text file textdiff.txt.

Oh, how I long for the return of the command prompt Everything was so much simpler then.

The problem was with the command prompt, that you had to be a total boffin to be able to anything beyond the simplist tasks, it was only good for programmers...

[HarryW]

It wasn't that hard! The problem was that it was a big forbodng black screen with lots of white type on it, and people thought it must be very difficult.

Admittedly some of it was hard, but to be honest I still use the DOS prompt for a lot of file copying & moving, searches and stuff. I like the way you can do a whole load of things in one line, which would take a load of mouse clicking in windows. But then I use keyboard shortcuts for a lot of windows stuff, I don't use the mouse as much as most people.

Anyway, back to what I was saying, it wasn't that hard, it just seemd like it would be and people got put off. I met my best friend when I was about 13 and he'd never used computers before. Within a month or two of him getting interested he could use DOS easily, sort out config.sys and autoexec.bat files, and all that stuff. It was just something most beginners didn't want to have to look at.

It's fair enough really, and I'm not saying we should go back to it or anything. I can still do all my DOS commands by shelling out to DOS, so I've got no complaints.

[Lyla]

I am

sometimes you ask for what's under your arm

Thanx all.