humm... isn't that the major issue concerning a graphical language like pd? We can try to diff both visual and text elements, but I think what has the most semantical meaning diff-wise should be the text file content. I am trying to think about small example first so I can see the extent of the problem.

Seems like an interesting project.

best regards,
Pedro Lopes

On Sat, Aug 14, 2010 at 12:06 AM, Hans-Christoph Steiner <hans@at.or.at> wrote:

This would be an awesome project for someone to take on.  From my point
of view, I think the most fruitful place to start is not the .pd text
file format, but the visual rendering of that text file. It is how the
Pd patch looks that is meaningful, so I think that rendering an image of
each patch/subpatch then using some kind of visual diff would be a good
place to start.

.hc

On Sat, 2010-08-14 at 00:00 +0100, Pedro Lopes wrote:
> >The day we have meaningful diffs, we can systematise the >evolution
> of pd help file translations, as mistakes are >corrected, as details
> are explained, and as new features are >added.
>
> Nicely pointed Mathieu, I agreed. Although it is not trivial,
> its definitely a matter that should be addressed to allow a "better"
> evolution of pd as a community/open driven language.
>
>
> How could pd's file structure could be easily changed to being more
> "diffable"? Have you organized any thoughts on that? (a quick
> self-mental exercise shows me that it would require major changes, or
> can we see conversely on a different "diff" process?)
>
>
> best regards,
> Pedro
>
> On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 11:39 PM, Mathieu Bouchard
> <matju@artengine.ca> wrote:
>         The day we have meaningful diffs, we can systematise the
>         evolution of pd help file translations, as mistakes are
>         corrected, as details are explained, and as new features are
>         added.
>
>
>
> --
> Pedro Lopes (ongoing MSc)
> contact: pedro.lopes@ist.utl.pt
> website: http://web.ist.utl.pt/Pedro.Lopes
>
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--
Pedro Lopes (ongoing MSc)
contact: pedro.lopes@ist.utl.pt
website: http://web.ist.utl.pt/Pedro.Lopes