FC is the name of a DOS utility program, File Compare. The file name of the program is FC.EXE.
My Google searches show it to be part of (probably IBM's) DOS 7, but if memory serves me correctly it was part of MSDOS versions as early as 4.0 or 5.0 . I remember being very happy to see this program bundled with DOS because file comparison is a very useful utility to a DOS batch file programmer, and there were few similar utilities available for the DOS platform.
Here are FC's options, which give an impression of its capabilities:
- /B
- Performs a binary comparison
- /L
- Compares files as ASCII
- /LBn
- Set the number of lines for the internal line buffer
- /nn
- The number of consecutive lines that must match before the files are declared resynchronized
- /N
- Displays the line numbers on an ASCII comparison
- /A
- Abbreviates the output of an ASCII comparison
- /C
- Disregards the case of letters
- /T
- Does not expand tabs to spaces
- /C
- Compresses tabs and multiple spaces to a single space for the comparison
This list shows that FC can be used for binary and ASCII comparisons, and that it can be told how to deal with some of the
variations in
ASCII text that may lead to
negligible differences. It also shows that FC uses a relatively simple
windowing/re-
synchronizing algorithm almost universally used in file comparison programs. Though sufficient in most cases, FC does not yield minimal difference sets like the
Optimal difference algorithm.
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Reference:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/rhwatson/dos7/z-fc.html