Diff Tool That Ignores Newlines

sql merge diff newline word-diff
Prometheus picture Prometheus · Nov 20, 2009 · Viewed 9.3k times · Source

I frequently need to compare SQL procedures to determine what has changed in the newest version. The problem is, everyone has their own style of formatting, and SQL doesn't (usually) care about where one puts their newlines (e.g. where clauses all on one line vs. newline before each AND).

This makes it very difficult (especially for long procedures) to see the actual differences. I cannot seem to find a free diff/merge utility that will allow me to ignore newlines (i.e. treat as whitespace). So far I've tried WinMerge and Beyond Compare without any luck. Does anyone know of a diff tool (ideally free) that would see these two examples as identical?

Ex. 1:

the quick
brown

Ex. 2:

the
quick
brown

Thanks in advance.

Answer

Dustin Laine picture Dustin Laine · Nov 5, 2010

I really like SourceGear's DiffMerge!

It works on all platforms and has built in rulesets, but allows you to create and add your own. Which means that you can ignore what you want, when you want it.

Bonus, it is free!

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