unix diff side-to-side results?

From man diff, you can use -y to do side-by-side.

-y, --side-by-side       output in two columns

Hence, say:

diff -y /tmp/test1  /tmp/test2

Test

$ cat a                $ cat bhello                  hellomy name                my nameis me                  is you

Let's compare them:

$ diff -y a bhello                                                           hellomy name                                                         my nameis me                                                         | is you

From icdiff's homepage:

Your terminal can display color, but most diff tools don't make good use of it. By highlighting changes, icdiff can show you the differences between similar files without getting in the way. This is especially helpful for identifying and understanding small changes within existing lines.

Instead of trying to be a diff replacement for all circumstances, the goal of icdiff is to be a tool you can reach for to get a better picture of what changed when it's not immediately obvious from diff.

IMHO, its output is much more readable than diff -y.

diff -y --suppress-common-lines file1 file2