6.5 Comparing Package Versions

The Compare feature allows you to see differences between two package versions in the package catalog. Package Deployment Tool analyzes the two package .jar files and displays the differences so you know what has changed between the two versions.

The Compare icon is disabled until you select two versions of a package.

It should be noted that PDT compares two versions of the same package, not two different packages. For example, comparing JDBC Account Tracking and JDBC Data Collection is not allowed.

To compare:

  1. Go to Packages and type the package name into the search box.

  2. Expand the package to display all its versions, then select the check box next to the two versions you want to compare.

    NOTE:You can only compare two package versions. The Compare icon is disabled when a third package is selected.

  3. Click .

  4. PDT compares the two packages at an object level and goes all the way down to the attribute level. Select the object, then the specific attribute to display the differences in the preview pane. The number of changes found is shown in the upper right corner; the UP and DOWN arrows let you to navigate through it.

  5. (Optional) Select how you want to review the difference:

    • Split View: Use the split view to see a side-by-side view of the result, with the differences highlighted in red and green.

      Red highlights differences in the package on the left pane, while green highlights differences in the package on the right preview pane.

    • Inline View: Displays the differences in a single preview pane. Uncheck the Split View box to see the differences inline.

    • White space: When comparing, you can specify to ignore any differences that occur in white space, which can be a space character or a tab character. For better output, you should ignore all whitespaces. However, if you want to change the default behavior, select from any of the following options:

      • All

      • None

      • Boundary

      • Selection

      • Trailing

    • Switch Diff: Click to swap the package on the left preview pane with the package on the right. If you click Switch Diff again, the package moves back to the left preview pane.

  6. To open the Packages catalog, click .