Comparing ini files where order isn't important

[CheriePie]

What's the best way to compare ini files where the order of lines in the file isn't important?

Often times, after upgrading an application, I like to compare the new default ini file to my already customized one to look for new features and changes, and more often than not, the lines in these 2 files aren't in the same order and Beyond Compare ends up calling them orphans in each file.

I used another compare app previously, it might be the one built into UltraEdit I'm thinking of, or another one, but in any case, it would compare all the lines of the files and if that same line appeared elsewhere, it'd notate in the margin the line number where the corresponding line in the other file is located (since they may not align vertically). This is a feature I'd like to see in Beyond Compare.

I thought I might be on the right track with the Align Manually, but for large ini files, that involves marking tons of lines, which isn't very efficient either.

So for now, what's the best way of doing this?

~Cherie

PS - After initially writing the above, I found IniSort in the Knowledge Base which seems to help a lot. I don't care for the fact that it sorts the lines and makes the files read only so that you can't make your edits directly in the File Viewer though, but at least it's a step in the right direction for me. Still though, I'd appreciate hearing what others are doing...

[Guest]

Re: Comparing ini files where order isn\'t important

If you created something a little more general (a sort of nested sort and compare, if you will) that was syntax aware, you could compare the lines in each section of an ini file without worrying about the order, or the contents of functions in a code file, even if the order of the functions had changed (which happens when different people add the same change to two branches of a development tree). Some interesting possibilities here, although I am not sure how easy it would be to implement....

[Erik]

Re: Comparing ini files where order isn\'t important

We have an additional rules definition that sorts .ini files before comparing them. You can download it at http://www.scootersoftware.com/morerules.

[Guest]

Re: Comparing ini files where order isn\'t important

We have an additional rules definition that sorts .ini files before comparing them. You can download it at http://www.scootersoftware.com/morerules.

Yup, thanks, found it just after I posted, and included a postscript about it. So yeah that option works fairly well with the only minor exception being that you can't do edits since the files are marked read only.

Any plans to do something similar to what I described as implemented by UltraEdit's compare utility?

~Cherie

[Erik]

Re: Comparing ini files where order isn\'t important

We're considering supporting moved sections in version 3.

You can change the "Sorted Ini" rule to allow editing:
<ul type="square">[*]Select Tools > Options... and switch to the Rules page.[*]Select "Sorted Ini" from the rules list and click Edit.[*]Switch to the Conversion tab and uncheck Read-only in the External Conversion section.[/list]

[CheriePie]

Re: Comparing ini files where order isn\'t important

We're considering supporting moved sections in version 3.

You can change the "Sorted Ini" rule to allow editing:<snip>

Thanks for the additional information. I didn't think to go looking for a way to turn editing back on but I'll try that out. If you make edits and save while using the Sorted ini rule, will the newly saved file be saved in the sorted order, or the original unsorted order? (If you're not sure off the top of your head, don't worry, I plan on playing with it to see myself.)

In any case, I look forward to the version 3 feature. If you haven't fully planned things out yet, you might want to take the description I gave in my earlier post under consideration, where another column in the margin gives the line number where the corresponding line can be found in the other file.

Thanks again for following up!
~Cherie

[Erik]

Re: Comparing ini files where order isn\'t important

The edited file would be saved in sorted order.

We will take your suggestions into consideration for version 3. Thanks.

[Guest]

Re: Comparing ini files where order isn\'t important

We have an additional rules definition that sorts .ini files before comparing them. You can download it at http://www.scootersoftware.com/morerules.

Excellant - just what i was looking for to compare .ini files.

[Guest]

Re: Comparing ini files where order isn\'t importan

We're considering supporting moved sections in version 3.

That would be a VERY valuable enhancement. Uses:
<ul type="square">[*]Java programs where reformatting (jalopy) is not desirable (someone moves a method further down in the file and you just want an indication that the section is "moved" not "changed")[*]Plain text documents (moving paragraphs around) [*]ls -lR comparisons (whole directories are in different locations in directory structures you are comparing) [*]etc. [/list]
Besides, you need to add this feature just on principle! It's a feature that windiff has and BC doesn't!

-Troy