Creating a Patch File:
diff -Naur olddir newdir > new-patch - or - diff -Naur oldfile newfile >new-patch
A Note concerning Patch and the number of Directory Levels used:
Try to make sure when creating a patch file that you have the same number of directories levels for both the olddir path and newdir path. For Ex:
--- old/modules/pcitable Mon Sep 27 11:03:56 1999 +++ new/modules/pcitable Tue Dec 19 20:05:41 2000
The above diff would work ok as a patch.
--- old/try1/other/modules/pcitable Mon Sep 27 11:03:56 1999 +++ new/modules/pcitable Tue Dec 19 20:05:41 2000
You may have problems with the above diff working as a patch. Note that the first one has 4 directory levels mentioned and the 2nd one has only two. I would suggest modifying the --- and +++ lines to make the directory structure in both to be the same number of levels deep.
Using the Patch Command:
patch -p0 < new-patch patch -p1 < new-patch
Which one of the above patch commands you use depends on your current working directory.
Other Methods for calling the patch command - using standard input of patch:
cat new-patch | patch -p0
Other methods for calling the patch command - using a "here document":
patch -p0 << EOF --- old/modules/pcitable Mon Sep 27 11:03:56 1999 +++ new/modules/pcitable Tue Dec 19 20:05:41 2000 @@ -1,4 +1,6 @@ 0x0e11 0xae10 "cpqarray" "Compaq|Smart-2/P RAID Controller" +0x1000 0x0010 "cpqarray" "Compaq|Integrated Array Controller" +0x1011 0x0046 "cpqarray" "Compaq|Smart-2/P RAID Controller" 0x0e11 0xae32 "tlan" "Compaq|Netelligent 10/100" 0x0e11 0xae34 "tlan" "Compaq|Netelligent 10" 0x0e11 0xae35 "tlan" "Compaq|Integrated NetFlex-3/P" @@ -21,6 +23,7 @@ 0x1000 0x000f "ncr53c8xx" "Symbios|53c875" 0x1000 0x0012 "ncr53c8xx" "Symbios|53c895a" 0x1000 0x008f "ncr53c8xx" "Symbios|53c875J" +0x1000 0x000a "sym53c8xx" "Symbios|53c1510" 0x1000 0x0701 "yellowfin" "Symbios|83C885 gigabit ethernet" 0x1000 0x0702 "yellowfin" "Symbios|Yellowfin G-NIC gigabit ethernet" 0x1011 0x0001 "tulip" "DEC|DECchip 21050" --- old/usr/share/kudzu/pcitable Sun Sep 26 17:11:23 1999 +++ new/usr/share/kudzu/pcitable Tue Dec 19 20:05:41 2000 @@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ 0x0e11 0x3034 "unknown" "Compaq|QVision 1280/p" 0x0e11 0x4000 "unknown" "Compaq|4000 [Triflex]" 0x0e11 0xa0f3 "ignore" "Compaq|Triflex PCI to ISA Bridge" +0x1000 0x0010 "cpqarray" "Compaq|Integrated Array Controller" +0x1011 0x0046 "cpqarray" "Compaq|Smart-2/P RAID Controller" 0x0e11 0xae10 "cpqarray" "Compaq|Smart-2/P RAID Controller" 0x0e11 0xae29 "unknown" "Compaq|MIS-L" 0x0e11 0xae2a "unknown" "Compaq|MPC" @@ -46,6 +48,7 @@ 0x1000 0x000f "ncr53c8xx" "Symbios|53c875" 0x1000 0x0012 "ncr53c8xx" "Symbios|53c895a" 0x1000 0x008f "ncr53c8xx" "Symbios|53c875J" +0x1000 0x000a "sym53c8xx" "Symbios|53c1510" 0x1000 0x0701 "yellowfin" "Symbios|83C885 gigabit ethernet" 0x1000 0x0702 "yellowfin" "Symbios|Yellowfin G-NIC gigabit ethernet" 0x1000 0x0901 "unknown" "Symbios|61C102" EOF
For the "here document", patch will read all the following lines, up until it reaches the delimeter that we specified after the << symbol. The delimeter we choose must appear at the beginning of a line, and must appear alone. In our case we are using the delimeter EOF. EOF has no special meaning, other than the fact that it is not likely that we would have a reason to type EOF at the beginning of any given line.
Levels in the Patch Command (-p0 or -p1?):
The -p option will optionally strip off directory levels from the patchfile. For Ex: if you have a patchfile with a header as such:
--- old/modules/pcitable Mon Sep 27 11:03:56 1999 +++ new/modules/pcitable Tue Dec 19 20:05:41 2000
Using a -p0 will expect, from your current working directory, to find a subdirectory called "new", then "modules" below that, then the "pcitable" file below that.
