Tool or library for comparing xml files [closed]

Answer 1

If I understand your problem, you likely have an application that uses XML files as the data storage and the GUI abstracts the "technical" tag names into "user friendly" labels - again, I am assuming. So it would be a natural extension to view differences in a similar way. I am also assuming your application doesn't have a diff facility that follows the "abstraction" concept.

I did some searching and found one app (ExamXML) that seems to come close with highlighting features. I downloaded the eval version and tested your files against it:

http://www.programmedintheusa.com/images/stack547399.png

It does a pretty good job of highlighting the differences. It seems pretty interactive and pops up with how many differences. It looks like you can change the colors it uses, so maybe you can use grays and whites to de-emphasize the tags. It also seems to have a lot of options that you can pre-set for your users as well.

I want to note that you will be hard pressed to find an XML comparison tool that will not show the tag names, as the tags are what give the content context. If you take away context, it becomes difficult to understand the data being displayed. Anyhow, maybe this tool might be helpful. Have you also tried to show your users some of these tools and see what they are willing to tolerate, sometimes they may surprise you. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I know this is an oldish thread, but Project: Merge is a new Windows application that can manage two-way and three-way merges and comparisons of XML files. (A three-way operation assumes there are two files that are both derived from a common base file.)

You might need to tell it how to identify individual elements to work perfectly on your files, but that's easy enough to do, and you'll only need to do it once.

Answer 3

Have you tried examdiff? Of course it's still a tech tool, but it's easy to work with. It has a drag and drop interface to compare files.

Answer 4

Altova diffDog XML Spy and diffDog are exceptional tools. Pry them from my cold dead hands, kinda stuff.

Answer 5

Oxygen XML Editor has the best collection XML diff's tool I have found. There are several different Algorithms for comparison, so if the default doesn't work for you, try Syntax Aware or some of the other Algorithms (now, I am using version 8 and haven't upgraded to version 10 so ymmv, but I doubt that the XML diff has gotten worse).

Answer 6

Either programatically or UI, you can use XmlDiff, XmlPatch tools and library from MSDN For details how it work, check out the guide.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa302294.aspx