From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
To: 9fans@cse.psu.edu
From: "Thomas Bushnell, BSG" <tb+usenet@becket.net>
Message-ID: <87r8se9gpv.fsf@becket.becket.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
References: <20011008165233.9D1FC199F3@mail.cse.psu.edu>
Subject: Re: Plan 9 annoyances (was: Re: [9fans] mv vs cp)
Date: Tue,  9 Oct 2001 09:04:01 +0000
Topicbox-Message-UUID: 02d4dd46-eaca-11e9-9e20-41e7f4b1d025

anothy@cosym.net writes:

> cmp(1) works fine on binary files. what else are you looking for in diff? i
> bind adiff into my /bin even when not in acme, to plumb from anywhere.

I want diff to DTRT for whatever kind of file it is.  

Indeed, line-by-line diff can even work for binary files!  You have to
make sure you escape things appropriately so that patch (or ed, or
whatever) can deal, but the case is not somehow inconceivable.  (Of
course, for binary files a diff will often typically be as large as
the original: and I don't so much mind just falling back to cmp.)

> // * Lack of a web browser.
> 
> in Inferno, see charon(1). 

Inferno != Plan 9.

There is no web browser in Plan 9---and that's got to be a big
obstacle.