| purpose | returns a set of patches that transform the input to a given string |
|---|---|
| input | a selection of titles |
| suffix | T=lines to operate in line mode, words to operate in word mode. If omitted (default), the algorithm operates in character mode. See notes below. |
| parameter | S=a string of characters |
| output | a set of patch instructions per input title to be used by the applypatches Operator to transform the input title(s) into the string S |
Learn more about how to use Filters
The difference algorithm operates in character mode by default. This produces the most detailed diff possible. In words mode, each word in the input text is transformed into a meta-character, upon which the algorithm then operates. In the default character mode, the filter would find two patches between "ActionWidget" and "Action-Widgets" (the hyphen and the plural s), while in words mode, the whole word is found to be changed. In lines mode, the meta-character is formed from the whole line, delimited by newline characters, and is found to be changed independent of the number of changes within the line.
The different modes influence the result when the patches are applied to texts other than the original, as well as the runtime.