The KRC Archive Diff plugin (menu KRC » Plugins » KRC Archive Diff) compares all files of two KUKA KRC archives (KRC4 and KRC2) and shows which files differ. Data lists (*.dat) such as $config.dat and $machine.dat are compared value by value, so you see at once which tool, base or machine data has been changed - for example between the archive from the commissioning and the current one.

Selecting the archives

For Archive A and Archive B select one of:

• the ZIP archive created by the robot or WorkVisual (it is unpacked to a temporary directory which is deleted automatically),
• the file am.ini or $config.dat of an unpacked archive,
• the directory of an unpacked archive (folder button or drag and drop).

The archive root is the directory with the sub directory KRC (KRC/R1 or KRC/STEU). It is searched upwards from the selected file and downwards up to three levels, so an archive unpacked into an extra folder is also found. The robot name is read from am.ini (RobName) and shown in the column headers. If the two archives belong to different robots, the plugin asks before it compares them. Then press Compare; a long comparison can be stopped with Cancel.

Result list

All files of both archives are paired by their relative path (upper and lower case does not matter). The column Change describes the difference:

• only in A / only in B - the file exists in one archive only,
• program changed - a program (*.src, *.sub) has different code,
• N value(s) - a data list has N variables with different values,
• comments / formatting - only comments, spaces or line ends are different,
• changed (binary) - a binary file is different (no detailed comparison).

Identical files are not listed. At the end the message window shows the summary, e.g. Comparison finished: 1 changed, 0 only in A, 0 only in B, 835 identical, and the first 20 changed values in the form BASE_DATA[3]: {X -3172.80,...} -> {X -3172.90,...}. A double click on a file in the list opens it in the editor.

The Diff button

• Programs (*.src) open in the KRC Diff window - the same window as KRC » More » Compare KRC programs, optionally with the comparison of points' coordinates.
• Data lists (*.dat) open the window ... - variables with different values: a table Variable / A / B with a filter. A double click on a value opens the file A or B in the editor at the line of the variable. The button Text diff shows both files side by side, line by line.
• Other text files open the line by line comparison (PlainText Diff).

Value by value means that the plugin reads the KRL declarations (DECL, GLOBAL, CONST, several variables in one line, arrays and elements such as TOOL_DATA[1]=..., SIGNAL, STRUC, ENUM, EXT) and compares numbers as numbers: 1.0 and 1.00000 are equal, upper and lower case and spaces around , { } are ignored. A change of the order of the declarations or of a comment is therefore not reported as a changed value.

Settings

The settings button (next to Howto) selects what is compared:

• Compare programs - *.src, *.sub, *.dat in the directory KRC,
• Compare system and machine data - KRC/R1/System, KRC/R1/Mada, KRC/STEU,
• Compare the other files of the archive - am.ini, C/..., configuration,
• Compare *.dat files value by value - switched off: the data lists are compared as text,
• Compare points' coordinates of the programs - in the KRC Diff window,
• Compare programs in plaintext mode - line by line instead of the KRC Diff window,
• Ignored files - wildcards of files which are skipped, by default *.log *.bak *.tmp *.~* *.old.

All options except the plaintext mode are switched on by default.

The plugin only reads the archives - no file is changed. It needs the licence of the KRC editor.