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(diff.info) Incomplete Lines

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 Incomplete Lines
 ****************
 
    When an input file ends in a non-newline character, its last line is
 called an "incomplete line" because its last character is not a
 newline.  All other lines are called "full lines" and end in a newline
 character.  Incomplete lines do not match full lines unless differences
 in white space are ignored ( White Space).
 
    An incomplete line is normally distinguished on output from a full
 line by a following line that starts with `\'.  However, the RCS format
 ( RCS) outputs the incomplete line as-is, without any trailing
 newline or following line.  The side by side format normally represents
 incomplete lines as-is, but in some cases uses a `\' or `/' gutter
 marker;  Side by Side.  The if-then-else line format preserves a
 line's incompleteness with `%L', and discards the newline with `%l';
  Line Formats.  Finally, with the `ed' and forward `ed' output
 formats ( Output Formats) `diff' cannot represent an incomplete
 line, so it pretends there was a newline and reports an error.
 
    For example, suppose `F' and `G' are one-byte files that contain
 just `f' and `g', respectively.  Then `diff F G' outputs
 
      1c1
      < f
      \ No newline at end of file
      ---
      > g
      \ No newline at end of file
 
 (The exact message may differ in non-English locales.)  `diff -n F G'
 outputs the following without a trailing newline:
 
      d1 1
      a1 1
      g
 
 `diff -e F G' reports two errors and outputs the following:
 
      1c
      g
      .
 
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