diff for file comparison in Linux CLI - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to compare two files named file1.txt and file2.txt using the diff command.

Linux CLI

diff [1] file2.txt

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Afile1.txt

B-u

C-r

D--help

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using an option like -u instead of the file name.

Forgetting to specify the first file.

The diff command compares two files. The first argument should be the first file name, here 'file1.txt'.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to show unified diff output between file1.txt and file2.txt.

Linux CLI

diff [1] file1.txt file2.txt

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A--brief

B-c

C-r

D-u

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using -r which is for recursive directory comparison.

Using --brief which only shows if files differ, not the details.

The -u option shows unified diff format, which is easier to read.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the command to compare directories dir1 and dir2 recursively.

Linux CLI

diff [1] dir1 dir2

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-r

B-u

C-c

D-q

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using -u or -c which are for file diffs, not recursive directory comparison.

Using -q which only reports if files differ, no details.

The -r option tells diff to compare directories recursively.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a command that shows only if files differ between dirA and dirB recursively.

Linux CLI

diff [1] [2] dirA dirB

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-r

B-q

C-u

D-c

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using -u or -c which show detailed diffs, not just if files differ.

Omitting -r when comparing directories.

The -r option compares directories recursively, and -q shows only if files differ without details.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a command that ignores case differences and shows unified diff between fileA.txt and fileB.txt.

Linux CLI

diff [1] [2] [3] fileA.txt fileB.txt

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-i

B-u

C-w

D-r

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using -r which is for directories, not files.

Omitting -i when ignoring case is needed.

The -i option ignores case differences, -u shows unified diff, and -w ignores all whitespace differences.