diff this to that

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This is a simple script that will let you diff the output of two runs of a command. The commands may be the same command or different commands -- this script just diffs the output between two runs of anything that generates output.

For example, this runs 'ls -latr /dev' and then diffs the output with a second run of the same command.

diffthis ls -latr /dev
#  Plug in a USB device to create some activity in /dev.
diffthat ls -latr /dev

ToDo

  1. I want to pass along options to diffthat that will be passed along to diff.
  2. If the execution of diffthat gives no command then the previous command will automatically be reused.
  3. How to make a tmp file that will automatically expire after a period of time or at logout?

Source

#!/bin/sh

#
# Noah Spurrier noah@noah.org
#


######################################################################
#
# This give the diff between two runs of commands.
#
# SYNOPSIS
#
#     diffthis [COMMAND]
#     diffthat [COMMAND]
#
# DESCRIPTION
#
#     This give the diff between two runs of commands. First run a command and
#     cache the output in tmp. Later the user may request the diff between the
#     cached output and the output of a new command. This basically does little
#     more than what you might do manually:
#
#         ls -latr /dev >/tmp/temp_data_for_diff
#         ls -latr /dev | diff -u /tmp/temp_data_for_diff -
#
#    Note that the '''diffthat''' is not a separate script. It should just be a
#    symlink to '''diffthis'''.
#        ln -s diffthis diffthat
#
#    Stderr output is not currently handled; although, the script has preliminary
#    code handling stderr to support this in the future. The following comment
#    describes a feature that is not fully implemented yet. The following will not work.
#    By default stderr is mixed into stdout and becomes part of the diff.
#    If you with to ignore stderr then pass the '-E' option and stderr will be 
#    sent to /dev/null. If you wish to preserve stderr, but diff it separately from 
#    stdout then pass the '-e' option and stderr will be sent to a separate log file and 
#    diffed separately.
#
#    Beware of shell aliases and functions. You may have 'ls' aliased to 
#    'ls ${LS_OPTIONS}' which will cause it to run differently than the default.
#    This tool does not resolve aliases or functions, which may shadow default behavior of a command.
#
# EXAMPLES
#
#	diffthis ls -latr /dev
#	diffthat ls -latr /dev
#
#	diffthis ls /proc
#	diffthat ls /proc
#
# EXIT STATUS
#
#     This exits with status 0 on success or non-zero on error.
#
# AUTHOR
#
#     Noah Spurrier noah@noah.org
#
# LICENSE
#
#     This license is OSI and FSF approved as GPL-compatible.
#     This license identical to the ISC License and is registered with and
#     approved by the Open Source Initiative. For more information vist:
#         http://opensource.org/licenses/isc-license.txt
#
#     Copyright (c) 2015, Noah Spurrier noah@noah.org
#
#     Permission to use, copy, modify, and/or distribute this software for any
#     purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
#     copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.
#
#     THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES
#     WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
#     MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR
#     ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
#     WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
#     ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
#     OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
#
# VERSION
#
#     Version 1
#
######################################################################

function get_realpath() {
        if [ -d "$1" ]; then
                cd "$1"
        else
                if [ "${1}" != "${1%/*}" ]; then
                        cd "${1%/*}"
                fi
        fi
        realpath="$(pwd -P)"
        cd - >/dev/null
        if [ -d "$1" ]; then
                echo "${realpath}"
        else
                echo "${realpath}/${1##*/}"
        fi
        return 0
}

# This sets variables which record where the script was started from and
# where the script itself is installed.
PWD="$(pwd)"
START_DIRECTORY="${PWD}"
if [ -x "$0" ]; then
        COMMAND="$(get_realpath "$0")"
else
        COMMAND="$(get_realpath "${PWD}/$0")"
fi
INSTALLDIR="$(dirname "${COMMAND}")"

FILENAME_DIFFTHIS="/tmp/diffthis-$(id -u)$(tty|tr / -)"
if [ "$1" = "-e" ]; then
	FILENAME_DIFFTHIS_STDERR="/tmp/diffthis-stderr-$(id -u)$(tty|tr / -)"
	shift
elif [ "$1" = "-E" ]; then
	FILENAME_DIFFTHIS_STDERR="/dev/null"
	shift
fi
echo $@

case "$0" in 
	*that*)
		echo "# Behave as diffthat (compete the diff)."
		FILENAME_DIFFTHIS="/tmp/diffthis-$(id -u)$(tty|tr / -)"
		$@ | diff -us ${FILENAME_DIFFTHIS} -
		exit 0
		;;
esac

if [ -n "${FILENAME_DIFFTHIS_STDERR}" ]; then
	$@ >${FILENAME_DIFFTHIS} 2>${FILENAME_DIFFTHIS_STDERR}
else
	$@ >${FILENAME_DIFFTHIS} 2>&1
fi
if [ -n "${FILENAME_DIFFTHIS_STDERR}" ]; then
	echo "Output saved to ${FILENAME_DIFFTHIS} and ${FILENAME_DIFFTHIS_STDERR}."
	echo "Run 'diffthat' to complete the diff."
else
	echo "Output saved to ${FILENAME_DIFFTHIS}."
	echo "Run 'diffthat' to complete the diff."
fi