Guiffy

Comparing the internal structure of two files can reveal crucial differences between documents that would otherwise be hard to spot. As such, applications that scan the structure of files have been created and software developers, in particular, will find such programs highly valuable, as they allow one to spot minute code differences in two snippets. Guiffy is a tool that can highlight differences in the structure of two files of virtually any format.

The application features a highly intuitive and well-thought out setup, in which two frames store the text of the source files. Line numbers are automatically generated, which makes it very easy to spot differences. But the program is not limited to files, as users can compare folders or even archives.

When loading these latter item-types, the application will display their structure as detailed treeviews. One of the great features of this application is that differences between source items are highlighted with a distinctive red hue. This is especially important when comparing code snippets with thousands of entries.

Another notable feature is the ability to define 'ignore rules', i.e. to remove certain strings from the analysis. These can range from simple whitespaces to blank lines, and even regular expressions, defined by users.

Merging files can also be performed and one can adjust the process logic. With just a few intuitive buttons, users can choose whether to copy only the identical content or to include differences found in one or the other file. The merged item can then be saved as a standard TXT document, but also a source file for various programming languages, including C++, Basic, or Java.

All in all, Guiffy is a useful tool for anyone working with similar but not identical files, especially code snippets.