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Comparing and Merging Files

18.1.4 File Names that Contain Unusual Characters

When a file name contains an unusual character like a newline or white space, `diff -r' generates a patch that patch cannot parse. The problem is with format of diff output, not just with patch, because with odd enough file names one can cause diff to generate a patch that is syntactically correct but patches the wrong files. The format of diff output should be extended to handle all possible file names.