Performing Three-Way Folder Comparison

Three-way folder comparison is conceptually very similar to three-way file comparison. The same colors are used to denote the same kinds of differences. Of course, here the units of comparison are folders and files, as opposed to blocks of text.

Three-way folder comparison is the automated difference analysis between two, presumably modified, folders hierarchies with respect to a third one, often referred to as their ancestor, or their origin.

The need for a three-way file comparison often arises in collaborative projects where the same branches of files are worked on by more than one contributor at a given point in time.

Three-way folder comparison evaluates to more than two standalone two-way comparisons between each of the modified branches and their common ancestor in that it reflects the level of convergence between the the two derivative works and their ancestor. A conflicting change is a case in point—it exists only in the context of a three-way comparison, when a block of text has been changed differently in both derivative works.

To open a three-way folder comparison

A simplified three-way folder comparison containing one of each possible relationships—deleted files, added files, files with non-conflicting changes, and files with conflicting changes—is shown on the following screenshot:

Three-way file comparison image

This image depicts:

Three-way comparison goes hand in hand with automatic synchronizing of non-conflicting differences—advanced functionality, governed by simple rules, for automatic merging of changes from the first and second folder hierarchies into their common ancestor.

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