Tracking Changes in Source Packages: debdiff and interdiff
Sometimes a user may want to look at differences between two source packages — for example, to generate a proposed patch against the version currently in the repository for inclusion in the distribution's bug tracking system. If both packages use the same upstream version, this can done using the debdiff tool, which produces differences between two source trees with packaging changes included.
If the upstream tarballs for the two versions are different, such a naive comparison cannot be used. Instead, the interdiff utility can be used to produce a diff between two diff files (in this case, between two diff.gz files). A drawback is that an interdiff output requires more effort to apply, and the one applying the changes must also find and download the newer upstream tarball, which is typically done using the get-orig-source rule in debian/rules.
Read more about this topic: Debian Build Toolchain
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