run, import, load
The run, import, or load command takes a DiffDog comparison file as its argument and runs a comparison on the objects defined in the comparison file. These comparison files are created in Altova DiffDog. The following types of DiffDog comparison file are accepted:
•.dirdif (which defines a directory comparison)
•.filedif (which defines a file comparison)
•.dbdif (which defines a database data comparison)
You can submit more than one comparison file as the command's argument. This enables multiple comparisons to be run with one call.
Important considerations
Note the following points about the comparison files when they are used as the arguments of this command.
Dirdif and Filedif files
Running .filedif and .dirdif files with DiffDog Server is supported only on Windows. For the comparison to be successful, all the file or directory paths that were valid on the desktop machine must be valid on the server machine.
Dbdif files
Running .dbdif files with DiffDog Server is most convenient if DiffDog Server runs either on the same computer as DiffDog desktop, or on a Windows machine. If DiffDog Server runs on a different machine or operating system, the following limitations apply:
•If the comparison involves CSV files, running .dbdif files is supported only on Windows servers. For the comparison to be successful, all the CSV file paths that were valid on the desktop machine must be valid on the server machine.
•If database connections are involved, the server machine must be configured and capable of handling the database connection. Namely, the database drivers and any other prerequisites required by the connection must be present on the target operating system as well. For example, if the .dbdif file includes a connection that requires an ODBC driver from the database vendor, that driver must be installed on the server machine as well. Note that some database connection methods supported on Windows are not supported on Linux and macOS. For more information, see Supported Databases.
Note: If, instead of using comparison files, you set up comparison jobs directly in DiffDog Server (with the data-diff and diff commands), then you can run the comparison jobs on any platform.
Output
Executing the run command returns the following:
•A return status code (0 = no differences, 1 = differences, 2 = error).
•The comparison result, displayed directly at the command line unless suppressed with the --quiet option.
Redirecting the comparison result to file
The comparison result can optionally be redirected to file for all three types of comparison file.
•For .filedif and .dirdif comparisons, the comparison result can be redirected to a report file in XML or text format. The file's path is specified in DiffDog, in the Output Path setting of the comparison file. See the DiffDog documentation for more information.
•For .dbdif comparisons, the comparison result is available in XML format only. Use the command shell redirection, for example, like this:
run comparison.dbdif >"C:\result.xml"
Syntax
diffdogserver run [options] {FILES}
diffdogcmdlclient run [options] {FILES}
Notes
•The {FILES} argument is a space-separated list of DiffDog comparison files in .dirdif, .filedif, or .dbdif format. The path to a file can be absolute or relative to the current working directory. The number of files you supply is limited only by the number of characters supported by your command shell.
•The --server and --port options apply to diffdogcmdlclient only. They specify the connection details of the server.
Options
If the server administrator has restricted access to server paths for security reasons, comparisons cannot use server file paths directly but must use an alias that the server administrator has assigned. This is done by specifying the alias in the --alias option (of the diff, compare and run, import, load commands). See Aliases for Server Folders for more information about this feature.
This option is meaningful if the comparison involves a server path (that is, if options --server-left or --server-right are set). Valid values for this option are aliases as defined in the Server Configuration File. To output the list of available aliases, run the aliases command. For more information, see Restricting Access to Server Paths.
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Specifies the path to a client configuration file where the details of the connection to DiffDog Server are defined
If you do not set the --c option, then diffdogcmdlclient attempts to read the client configuration file from the same directory as the executable. If there is no configuration file in the same directory, then the default values displayed by the showcfg CLI command and in the topic Client Configuration File are used.
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Sets the reporting level to show information, warning, or error messages. Valid values are:
•none: Suppress all logging •info: Report information, warning, and error messages •warning: Report error and warning messages •error: (Default) Report only error messages
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Specifies the port on which DiffDog Server listens for requests. If this option is not set, then the port specified in the Client Configuration File will be used (29800 by default). The --port option overrides the setting in the config file.
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Specifies the server on which DiffDog Server listens for requests. If this option is not set, then the server specified in the Client Configuration File will be used (127.0.0.1 by default). The --server option overrides the setting in the config file.
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Prevents the standard output from being displayed at the command line. Valid values are:
•true: Do not display standard output in the terminal window. •false: (Default) Display standard output in the terminal window.
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Specifies the output format of the generated report. The following values are available: auto (default), text, sql, xml, html. The default option is sql.
Generating the report in SQL format is meaningful when the right side of the data comparison is a database. It contains SQL statements that merge data from the left to the right side of the comparison. For example, if there are missing rows on the right, INSERT statements are generated. Conversely, if there are extra rows on the right, DELETE statements are generated. For changed values, UPDATE statements are generated.
However, when the left side of the comparison is a database and the right side is a CSV file, then the default option is text.
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Examples
The command below calls the DiffDog Client executable to run the comparison file C:\DiffDog\Comparison1.filedif:
DiffDogCmdlClient run C:\DiffDog\Comparison1.filedif
The command below calls the DiffDog Client executable to run the comparison files Comparison1.filedif and Comparison2.dirdif:
DiffDogCmdlClient run C:\DiffDog\Comparison1.filedif C:\DiffDog\Comparison2.dirdif