What does cmp command do in Unix?

In computing, cmp is a command-line utility for computer systems that use Unix or a Unix-like operating system. It compares two files of any type and writes the results to the standard output.

Which option is used with cmp command to limit the number of bytes to be compared?

5. How to limit number of bytes to be compared. The tool also allows you to limit the number of bytes that you want to compare – like, you may want to compare at most 25 or 50 bytes. This can be done by using the -n command line option.

What is the difference between cmp and diff commands in Unix?

diff stands for difference. This command is used to display the differences in the files by comparing the files line by line. Unlike its fellow members, cmp and comm, it tells us which lines in one file have is to be changed to make the two files identical.

Which option is used with CMP command?

cmp Command in Linux with examples

cmp command in Linux/UNIX is used to compare the two files byte by byte and helps you to find out whether the two files are identical or not.
-b(print-bytes) : If you want cmp displays the differing bytes in the output when used with -b option.

What is the behavioral difference between CMP and diff commands?

‘cmp’ and ‘diff’ both command are used to list the differences, the difference between both the command is that ‘cmp’ is used to find the difference between files whereas ‘diff’ is used to find the difference between directories. cmp will list the line and column number that are different between two files.

What is difference between COM and cmp command?

diff command is used for converting one file into another in order to make them identical and comm is used for displaying the common elements in both the files. Explanation: cmp command by default only displays the first mismatch that occurs in both files.

How do you use cmp?

When cmp is used for comparison between two files, it reports the location of the first mismatch to the screen if difference is found and if no difference is found i.e the files compared are identical. cmp displays no message and simply returns the prompt if the the files compared are identical.

How does CMP command work?

cmp Command in Linux with examples

cmp command in Linux/UNIX is used to compare the two files byte by byte and helps you to find out whether the two files are identical or not.
-b(print-bytes) : If you want cmp displays the differing bytes in the output when used with -b option.

What does the cmp command do in Linux?

Linux cmp command. On Unix-like operating systems, the cmp command is used to compare two files byte by byte. If a difference is found, it reports the byte and line number where the first difference is found. If no differences are found, by default, cmp returns no output.

How to compare two files using cmp command?

How to compare two files using cmp As already mentioned, the tool compares two files byte by byte. As a difference is found, the tool stops and produces an output that tells which line and byte the difference is in. As you can see in the above screenshot, the output clearly says the files differ at byte 20 in line 1.

What’s the exit value of the cmp command?

5. -s option : This allows you to suppress the output normally produced by cmp command i.e it compares two files without writing any messages. This gives an exit value of 0 if the files are identical, a value of 1 if different, or a value of 2 if an error message occurs.

What does diff in CMP mean in Linux?