ФФФ Issue #1 ФФФ THE SOFTWARE WORKBENCH BY: MATT ANDERSON ФФФФ Summer 1996 ФФФ
ФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФ DOS File Comparing Programs ФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФ

Why read the same documentation to a updated program when you can compare
and read only the differences.  Check out what many Windows applications
do to your Win.Ini files, so you can later remove them.  These charts
provide a highly detailed look at several shareware comparing programs
and which one is right for you.  We have examined the features, speed,
and the pros and cons of every program.  Over weeks of researching!

Programs Tested                   Author/Company          Released  Marketing
ФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФ
Laser Compare 1.2 (beta) (LAS)    LaserArts               Jun 1996  Shareware
Sherlock 2.73 (SLK)               Gulf Sierra             Jan 1995  Shareware
Visual Compare 1.52 (VIS)         Whitney Software, Inc.  Jun 1992  Shareware
File Compare (FCP)                Microsoft Corporation   Dos 5.0+  Commercial
Different File Compare 1.0 (DFC)  Tanny Bear Development  May 1993  Shareware

(beta) = The version I tested was only a preview of 1.2, their final
release of 1.2 may include some more features.

ЩЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭЛ
К General comparison                           Г LAS Г SLK Г VIS Г FCP Г DFC К
ЧФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФЖ
К Registration fee (without any shipping fees) Г $10 Г $25 Г $30 Г $39 Г $15 К
К Documentation (0=Useless, 10=Informative)    Г  8  Г  6  Г  7  Г  3  Г  6  К
К Internet email/postage stamp mail support    Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  К
К No evaluation period (NSW=Not ShareWare)     Г  X  Г     Г     Г NSW Г     К
К Pre-made Windows .PIF and .ICO files         Г  X  Г     Г     Г     Г     К
К Program is supported by ASP                  Г     Г  X  Г  X  Г     Г     К
К Telephone support                            Г     Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  Г     К
ЧФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФСФФФФФСФФФФФСФФФФФСФФФФФСФФФФФЖ
К Average Registration Fee: $23.80                                           К
ШЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭМ

ЩЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭЛ
К Program features                             Г LAS Г SLK Г VIS Г FCP Г DFC К
ЧФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФЖ
К*Ability to analyze ASCII files               Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  К
К*Ability to analyze BINARY files              Г (1) Г     Г     Г  X  Г     К
К Ability to create a composite/merged file    Г     Г     Г  X  Г     Г  X  К
К Ability to display carriage returns          Г  X  Г     Г     Г     Г     К
К Ability to ignore case differences           Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  К
К Ability to shell to DOS                      Г  X  Г  X  Г     Г     Г     К
К Ability to text search for a keyword         Г     Г     Г     Г     Г  X  К
К*Automatic file synchronization               Г  X  Г     Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  К
К Displays the total number of mismatches      Г  X  Г     Г     Г     Г  X  К
К*Displays the line numbers for reference      Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  К
К*Fast built-in duplicate checking             Г  X  Г     Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  К
К Help available when -? or /? is entered      Г  X  Г     Г     Г  X  Г  X  К
К Option to auto exit when its done comparing  Г  X  Г     Г     Г (2) Г     К
К Option to ignore leading spaces/tabs         Г  X  Г (3) Г  X  Г (3) Г  X  К
К Option to ignore trailing spaces/tabs        Г  X  Г (3) Г  X  Г (3) Г  X  К
К Option to print results to a printer         Г  X  Г  X  Г     Г (4) Г     К
К*Option to save mismatch results to a file    Г  X  Г     Г  X  Г (4) Г     К
К Option to set the screen mode temporary      Г  X  Г  X  Г  X  Г     Г  X  К
К Prompts for file names if none are given     Г     Г  X  Г  X  Г     Г (5) К
К Side by side comparison                      Г     Г  X  Г  X  Г     Г  X  К
К Uses a key system for registered users       Г  X  Г     Г     Г (6) Г     К
К Uses errorlevel codes for batch files        Г  X  Г     Г  X  Г     Г     К
К User (friendly) interface                    Г (7) Г  X  Г  X  Г     Г  X  К
К*Will process files of unlimited size         Г  X  Г  X  Г     Г  X  Г     К
К Will read command line data from environment Г  X  Г     Г     Г     Г     К
К Will read command line data from a file      Г  X  Г     Г     Г     Г     К
ЧФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФЖ
К Total  [26 possible points]                  Г  22 Г  12 Г  14 Г  14 Г  15 К
ЧФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФСФФФФФСФФФФФСФФФФФСФФФФФСФФФФФЖ
К * = A main factor when looking for a good comparison program.              К
ЧФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФЖ
К (1) = Using /H, it can test Binary, but you cannot see differences.        К
К (2) = Since there is no user interface, it will always exit when its done. К
К (3) = Both leading and trailing spaces/tabs ignoring is controlled by one  К
К       option.                                                              К
К (4) = You can either redirect the output to a file or printer.             К
К (5) = If you use the -r switch, it shall prompt for the file names.        К
К (6) = Not a shareware program.                                             К
К (7) = Can be disabled using the /O (Output directly to dos) option.        К
ШЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭМ

ЩЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭбЭЭЭЭЭЛ
К Speed Tests (Time in Seconds)                Г LAS Г SLK Г VIS Г FCP Г DFC К
ЧФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФЖ
К One file to itself                           Г .55 Г 2.2 Г .55 Г .16 Г .22 К
К Two files with one ending mismatch           Г 1.6 Г (A) Г .66 Г .22 Г .27 К
К Two files with one beginning mismatch        Г 2.8 Г (A) Г .77 Г .22 Г .27 К
К Two identical files                          Г .60 Г 2.2 Г .60 Г .22 Г .22 К
К Two different files (Output to a file only)  Г 6.2 Г (A) Г  75 Г 2.3 Г (B) К
К Two different files (Output to screen only)  Г  12 Г (A) Г  74 Г  51 Г 1.5 К
К Time to determine if files are identical     Г .55 Г (B) Г .60 Г .16 Г (B) К
К Time to determine if files are different     Г .60 Г (B) Г  75 Г 2.3 Г (B) К
ЧФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФХФФФФФЖ
К Average Time (Margin of Error: 0.05 seconds) Г 3.1 Г N/A Г  28 Г 7.1 Г N/A К
ЧФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФСФФФФФСФФФФФСФФФФФСФФФФФСФФФФФЖ
К Each file consisted of 5000 lines with a random number from 0 to 9 on each К
К line.  Each program created an output file, if there were any differences. К
ЧФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФЖ
К DISCLAIMER: Your results could be different from mine due to factors such  К
К as disk speed, disk fragmentation, disk caching, memory, and TSRs loaded.  К
ЧФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФЖ
К (A) = Program cannot automatically synchronize.                            К
К (B) = Program cannot create an output file and does not use errorlevels.   К
К N/A = Results can not be perform because of program limitations.           К
ШЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭМ

The PROS and CONS...

Laser Compare by LaserArts ($10) [Shareware]
  Pros: No evaluation period.  Can output up to 14 destinations (10 files,
        3 printers, and the screen) in one session.  Can display carriage
        returns.  Great with batch files including an auto exit option once
        files have been found to be equal or different.  Uses errorlevel
        codes upon exit.  Lifetime registration key system.
  Cons: Complex user interface.  Does not prompt for files if you do not
        give it any.  Mismatches are not displayed side by side.
  My Opinion: Get it, keep it, and figure out how to use it.  To me, this
        program is a extremely beefed up version of DOS's File Compare.  But
        the low registration fee and numberous features makes this program
        my number one pick in almost all categories.

Sherlock by Gulf Sierra <ASP> ($25) [Shareware]
  Pros: ASP support.  Many updates.  Windows version now available.  Dual
        windows that allow you to move and compare different sections of two
        files.
  Cons: No '/?' command for instant help.  Registration reminder screen.
        Annoying prompts about printing registration form on exit.  No
        automatic file synchronization.
  My Opinion: Pass.  No auto synchronization can be a real hassle when your
        anaylzing two distinct files.  Maybe future versions will include
        this feature.

Visual Compare by Whitney Software, Inc. <ASP> ($30) [Shareware]
  Pros: ASP support.  Side by side comparison.  Ability to create a
        composite file.  Uses errorlevel codes upon exit.
  Cons: Was very slow when comparing two files that were very different.
        File comparing limitation of 16,368 lines.
  My Opinion: Pass.  File limitations and time are a major factor when your
        looking for a good file handling product, perhaps they may make
        another version.

File Compare by Microsoft ($39) [Commercial]
  Pros: Very Fast.  Able to compare binary files.  Bundled with MS-Dos 5.0+
  Cons: Direct output only, no user interface.  Aborts if files are too
        different.  Short documentation.  Does not prompt for files if you
        do not give it any.  Mismatches are not displayed side by side.
  My Opinion: Learn it.  This program is only a skeleton program compared to
        the rest of the pack.  But, great if you have already purchased DOS
        and don't do plan on doing much comparing.  Because of the simple
        program design, it can process files very quickly, but video output
        seems to be slow.

Different File Compare by Tanny Bear Development ($15) [Shareware]
  Pros: Fully functional.  Very Fast.  Side by side comparison.  Ability to
        create a composite file.  You can text search through the files.
  Cons: It can only output to the screen.  File comparing limitation of
        65,534 lines.  No author name - makes me think that they are
        embarrass about their program.
  My Opinion: Get it, learn it, and if you like it, keep it.  This is great
        if you would like to see a visual comparison between both files
        entirely.  It can examine both files for differences at outstanding
        speeds and has the ability to jump around to any portion of either
        file within a few keystrokes.

Programs with an <ASP> besides them means they are members of The
Association of Shareware Professionals.  This is a nice service for the
users and authors of progarms however, with a $100 per year fee to the
authors, you may notice that cost of the registration fee to be slighty
higher than those that who are not members of ASP.  ASP enforces strict
regulations on bringing you the best and most professional quality of
programming possible.
ФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФ
Where they can be reached:

Archives with a "?" indicate a version number is usually placed there.

Laser Compare...                       Sherlock...
  LaserArts                              Gulf Sierra
  Jason Laviska                          John P. Bauernschub, Jr.
  510 Tupelo Drive                       14809 Clavel Street
  Melbourne, FL  32935-6371 USA          Rockville, MD  20853-1543 USA
  jason.laviska@outdoor.com              CompuServe ID: 73270,77
  Archive: LSRCMP??.ZIP                  Phone Number: 301-460-0354
                                         Archive: SHERL???.ZIP
                                         (Windows version also available)

Visual Compare...                      File Compare (Bundled in Dos 5.0+)...
  Whitney Software, Inc.                 Microsoft Corporation
  John R. Whitney                        One Microsoft Way
  P.O. Box 4999                          Redmond, WA  98052-6399 USA
  Walnut Creek, CA  94596 USA            Phone Numbers: 800-936-3500 (USA)
  CompuServe ID: 70661,3463              or 800-563-9048 (Canada)
  Archive: VC???.ZIP                     No archive. (Not shareware)

Different File Compare...
  *** Could not find author's name! ***
  Tanny Bear Development
  3435 Ocean Park Blvd.
  Suite 206
  Santa Monica, CA 90405 USA
  Compuserve ID: 70244,1214
  Fax: 310-396-2552
  Archive: DFC??.ZIP

These are the addresses and numbers that were included in the documentations.
ФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФ
VERDICTS:

Best Overall............Laser Compare by LaserArts
Best with Batch Files...Laser Compare by LaserArts
Best in Performance.....Laser Compare by LaserArts for overall speed and
                           Different File Compare by Tanny Bear Development
                           for fast anaylzing to the screen.
Best User Interface.....None!  Each program took time to learn and figure
                           out, I would say that Sherlock and Visual Compare
                           would best fit this category.  Laser Compare and
                           Different File Compare have some unique and
                           complex interfaces, and DOS's FC doesn't have
                           nothing to look at but flying text.
ФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФ
Other comparing programs on the shareware market, but did not make it to
the my personal top five...Feel free to try them out, maybe you'll like
one of these programs more than the advanced ones listed above.

@Compare 1.6 by Brian C. Madsen - Free Registration.
DIFF 1.3 by C. K. Miller - Freeware with source code.
DoubleTake File Comparator 1.6 by John L. Dove III  - Registration: $20
Generation Gap by Damon M. Farris - Registration: $40
File Compare 2.0 by Guido Klemans - Free registration.
ListCompare 1.10 by *** Could not find author's name! *** - Registration: $7
PC Magazine's COMPARE by Michael J. Mefford - Freeware with source code.
QCmp (Quick Compare) by Christopher J. Dunford - Freeware.
ФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФ
The Software WorkBench (TSWB) is a magazine that is designed to evaluate
the certain pieces of useful shareware programs on the market helping the
average consumer find the right program for their needs.  Many magazines
examine only commerical programs anywhere in the price range of $50-$200
and more.  In today's world, the consumer wants to pay for the software
that has the most overall value or usefulness.  Even though paying $50
for a commerical program may sound like a great deal, many people are
frustrated when they find out the software is too complicated or find the
software was not designed for the application needed.  If you decide to
return to the store an opened software package, in many cases you will be
refused.  And if you were to upgrade this program, you will always end up
paying more from your pocket.  On the other hand, with shareware, you
have the ability to try before you buy.  With many shareware programs,
once you have registered, all the future updates are yours for life.
ФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФ
Due to the number of people who would like to either kill me for making a
program or company look bad or want their programs listed in a different
issue, I will NOT give out my personal address or phone number.  However,
if I stumble onto your program, I like it, and I find many other programs
similar to it, then I may decide to create another issue of TSWB that
will help many people in finding the perfect program.  If I think its
worth mentioning, I will contact YOU and allow you to distribute this
magazine. I have asked each author, I contacted, that they would keep me
anonymous down to my personal and magazine names so I can continue to
give out only my honest opinions.  If your program was listed in this
issue of TSWB then feel free to distribute it in its UNMODIFIED state
along with your own program, otherwise distribute this file (and the
file_id.diz) in a separate archive called TSWB01.ZIP. - Matt Anderson :-)
ФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФ
ASP is The Association of Shareware Professionals.
CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe, Inc.
Generation Gap is a trademark of Mutech.
Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.