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NAME

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

The cmp utility compares two files of any type and writes the results to the standard output. By default, is silent if the files are the same; if they differ, the byte and line number at which the first difference occurred is reported. Bytes and lines are numbered beginning with one. The following options are available: Print the byte number (decimal) and the differing byte values (octal) for each difference. Print nothing for differing files; return exit status only. The optional arguments and are the byte offsets from the beginning of and respectively, where the comparison will begin. The offset is decimal by default, but may be expressed as an hexadecimal or octal value by preceding it with a leading ``0x'' or ``0''. The utility exits with one of the following values: The files are identical. The files are different; this includes the case where one file is identical to the first part of the other. In the latter case, if the option has not been specified, writes to standard output that EOF was reached in the shorter file (before any differences were found). An error occurred.

SEE ALSO

STANDARDS

The utility is expected to be compatible.


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