comp (command)

In computing, comp is a command used on DEC OS/8,[1] DOS,[2] DR FlexOS,[3] IBM OS/2,[4] Microsoft Windows[5] and related computer operating systems such as ReactOS. It is used to perform comparisons of multiple computer files to show the differences between them.[6]

comp
The ReactOS comp command
Developer(s)DEC, IBM, Microsoft, Digital Research, Novell, Paul Vojta, ReactOS Contributors
Initial releaseAugust 1981 (1981-08)
Operating systemOS/8, PC DOS, MS-DOS, FlexOS, SISNE plus, OS/2, eComStation, ArcaOS, Windows, DR DOS, FreeDOS, ReactOS
PlatformCross-platform
TypeCommand
LicenseFreeDOS: MIT
ReactOS: GNU GPL 2

History
COMP.COM (among other commands) in IBM PC DOS 1.0.

In DOS, the comp command first appeared in PC DOS 1.0[7] and has been included in most versions of MS-DOS and PC DOS. A newer command, fc was added in DOS 3.3 which allows for line comparisons in addition to binary comparisons. DR DOS 6.0 also includes an implementation of the comp command.[8]

The FreeDOS version was developed by Paul Vojta and is licensed under the MIT License.[9] Ged Murphy developed the ReactOS version. It is licensed under the GNU GPL 2.[10]

The command is also available in the EFI shell.[11]

Syntax

The command-syntax is:[12]

comp [<Data1>] [<Data2>] [/d] [/a] [/l] [/n=<Number>] [/c]

Parameters
  • <Data1> – Location and name of the first file or set of files
  • <Data2> – Location and name of the second file or set of files
  • /d – Display differences in decimal format (Default is hexadecimal)
  • /a – Display differences as characters
  • /l – Display the number of the line, instead of the byte offset
  • /n=<Number> – Compare only the specified number of lines for each file
  • /c – Perform a non case-sensitive comparison
  • /off[line] – Process files with the offline attribute set
  • /? – Display Help

See also

References
  1. "Concise Command Language" (CCL)."OS/8 Handbook" (PDF). April 1974. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  2. Jamsa, Kris A. (1993), DOS: The Complete Reference, Osborne McGraw-Hill, p. 206, ISBN 0078819040.
  3. http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/digitalResearch/flexos/1073-2003_FlexOS_Users_Guide_V1.3_Nov86.pdf
  4. "OS/2 Commands". www.jatomes.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-14. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  5. "Comp".
  6. Wolverton, Van (2003). Running MS-DOS Version 6.22 (20th Anniversary Edition), 6th Revised edition. Microsoft Press. ISBN 0-7356-1812-7.
  7. http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/pc/dos/6172220_DOS_1.0_Jan82.pdf
  8. "DR DOS 6.0 User Guide Optimisation and Configuration Tips" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-09-30. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  9. http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/files/distributions/1.2/repos/pkg-html/comp.html
  10. "Reactos/Reactos". GitHub. 3 January 2022.
  11. "EFI Shells and Scripting". Intel. Retrieved 2013-09-25.
  12. MS-DOS and Windows command line comp command

Further reading
  • Cooper, Jim (2001). Special Edition Using MS-DOS 6.22, Third Edition. Que Publishing. ISBN 978-0789725738.
  • Dyson, Peter (1995). Mastering OS/2 Warp. Sybex. ISBN 978-0782116632.
  • Stanek, William R. (2008). Windows Command-Line Administrator's Pocket Consultant, 2nd Edition. Microsoft Press. ISBN 978-0735622623.


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