bytecomp is a command-line utility that performs a byte-level comparison of two files and provides detailed statistics about their differences, including:
- Difference Percentage: The percentage of bytes that differ between the two files.
- Average Value Divergence: The average amount (as a percentage) by which the differing byte values diverge.
- Entropy (Optional): The entropy of each file, providing a measure of their randomness or information content.
Key Features:
- Memory Efficiency: Uses memory mapping (
mmap) to avoid loading entire files into memory, making it suitable for comparing large files. - Chunk-Based Processing: Processes files in chunks to ensure smooth progress and prevent slowdowns with larger files.
- Real-Time Progress: Displays a progress bar and real-time statistics during comparison.
- Optional Entropy Calculation: Entropy calculation can be enabled using the
-eflag.
bytecomp [-e] file1.bin file2.bin
Options:
-e, --entropy: Calculate and print the entropy of each file.
Example:
bytecomp -e file1.bin file2.bin
Output:
50% [##################### ] Diff: 2.45%, Div: 17.91%
100% [########################################] Diff: 2.45%, Div: 17.91%
Difference percentage: 2.45%
Average value divergence: 17.91%
Entropy of file 1: 7.85
Entropy of file 2: 7.92
- Data Integrity Verification: Compare backups or copies of files to ensure they are identical.
- Patch Analysis: Analyze the differences between two versions of a file to understand the changes made.
- File Corruption Detection: Identify potential corruption in files by comparing them to known good copies.
- Data Compression Evaluation: Compare the entropy of files before and after compression to assess compression effectiveness.
- Security Analysis: Compare files for suspicious modifications or hidden data.
- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/your-username/bytecomp.git - Compile the code:
gcc bytecomp.c -o bytecomp -lm(the-lmflag is needed for thelog2()function)
This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.