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- ├OMMAND: ├╧═╨
-
- ╙YNTAX: COMP S:FIRSTFILE D:SECONDFILE
-
- ╞UNCTION:
-
- ├╧═╨ COMPARES TWO DISK FILES. ╘HIS COMMAND CAN BE USED TO COMPARE TWO
- DISK FILES AND GIVES A LITTLE MORE THAN JUST "YES THEY ARE THE SAME" OR "NO
- THEY ARE NOT". ├╧═╨ GOES THROUGH THE TWO FILES AND DISPLAYS WHERE (IN WHAT
- RANGE) THEY ARE THE SAME, AND WHERE THEY ARE DIFFERENT.
-
- ┬ECAUSE OF THE WIDE VARIETY OF WAYS THAT TWO FILES CAN DIFFER FROM EACH
- OTHER, ANY COMPARE FUNCTION WILL BE OF LIMITED USE. ├╧═╨ CAN BE USEFUL,
- HOWEVER, IN A NUMBER OF CASES.
-
- ╫HEN YOU KNOW THAT TWO FILES SHOULD BE THE SAME, AND YOU HAVE REASON TO
- SUSPECT THAT THEY ARE NOT, ├╧═╨ CAN BE USED TO CONFIRM YOUR SUSPICION. ╘HE
- MAIN REASON THAT ├╧═╨ EXISTS IS BECAUSE IT WAS NEEDED TO DEBUG ┴╥├. ╘O MAKE
- SURE ┴╥├ WAS WORKING PROPERLY, A FILE WOULD BE ┴╥├'ED AND THEN UN-┴╥├'ED.
- ╔F THE UN-┴╥├'ED COPY WAS NOT THE SAME AS THE ORIGINAL, ╔'D START HUNTING
- FOR BUGS.
-
- ╫HEN THE OUTPUT OF A PROGRAM IS A FILE, AND YOU WANT TO SEE HOW CHANGING
- THE INPUT AFFECTS THE OUTPUT, ├╧═╨ CAN BE USED TO CHECK THE TWO OUTPUT
- FILES. ┴GAIN, ├╧═╨ WAS A HANDY DEBUGGING TOOL WHEN DEVELOPING ┴╥├. ╙INCE IT
- WAS IMPERATIVE THAT BOTH THE 64 AND 128 VERSIONS OF ┴╥├ PRODUCE THE SAME
- OUTPUT FOR A GIVEN INPUT, ╔'D ┴╥├ THE SAME SET OF FILES WITH BOTH VERSIONS
- AND THEN ├╧═╨ THE TWO ARCHIVES. ╔F THEY WERE NOT IDENTICAL, SOMETHING WAS
- WRONG.
-
- ┼XAMPLE:
-
- ╙UPPOSE "FILE A" CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ┬┴╙╔├ PROGRAM:
-
- 1000 DOPEN#1,"RELFILE",L20
- 1010 FOR X=1 TO 10:PRINT#1,"RECORD NUMBER ";X:NEXT
- 1020 DCLOSE#1
-
-
- ┴ND "FILE B" CONTAINS:
-
- 1010 DOPEN#1,"RELFILE",L15
- 1010 FOR X=1 TO 99:PRINT#1,"RECORD NUMBER ";X:NEXT
- 1020 PRINT#1,"THE END"
- 1030 DCLOSE#1
-
-
- ├╧═╨ GAVE THE FOLLOWING RESULTS ON THESE FILES:
-
- A:FILE A A:FILE B
- ---------------------------------------------
- OFFSET ADDR1 ADDR2 MATCH? COMMENTS
- ---------------------------------------------
- 000000 001C01 001C01 YES. FILES START OUT THE SAME.
- 000016 001C15 001C15 NO. TWO BYTES ARE DIFFERENT
- 000018 001C17 001C17 YES. A BUNCH MORE THE SAME.
- 000025 001C24 001C24 NO. TWO MORE DIFFERENT
- 000027 001C26 001C26 YES. A BUNCH MORE THE SAME
- 000040 001C3F 001C3F NO. REMAININGBYTES ARE MOSTLY
- 000041 001C40 001C40 YES. NOT ALIKE. (ONLY SHORT
- 000044 001C43 001C43 NO. "YES" INTERVALS)
- 00004A EOF 001C49 NO. FILE A ENDS. $4A BYTES LONG.
- 00005B EOF EOF NO. FILE B ENDS. $5B BYTES LONG.
-
-
- ╬OTE THAT EOF IS ALWAYS NO MATCH SINCE EOF MEANS THAT "INPUT IS
- EXHAUSTED" RATHER THAN "THIS IS THE LAST BYTE OF THE FILE".
-
-
-
-