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Documentación Herramientas principales Beyond Compare

API Reference

This document provides comprehensive API documentation for the Beyond Compare tool, including programmatic access, integration methods, and usage examples.

Overview

The Beyond Compare tool provides both client-side JavaScript APIs and server-side REST APIs for programmatic access to comparison functionality.

Client-Side API

Core Comparison API

compareFiles(fileA, fileB, options)

Performs a file comparison between two files.

Parameters:

  • fileA (File): First file to compare
  • fileB (File): Second file to compare
  • options (Object): Comparison options

Options:

{
  ignoreWhitespace: boolean,    // Default: false
  ignoreCase: boolean,          // Default: false
  showLineNumbers: boolean,     // Default: true
  algorithm: string,            // 'standard' | 'semantic' | 'binary'
  contextLines: number          // Default: 3
}

Returns:

{
  added: number,
  removed: number,
  modified: number,
  diffs: Array<{
    type: 'added' | 'removed' | 'modified',
    lineA: number | string,
    lineB: number | string,
    contentA: string,
    contentB: string
  }>
}

Example:

const result = await compareFiles(fileA, fileB, {
  ignoreWhitespace: true,
  ignoreCase: false,
  showLineNumbers: true,
});

console.log(`Added: ${result.added}, Removed: ${result.removed}, Modified: ${result.modified}`);

compareTexts(textA, textB, options)

Performs a text comparison between two text strings.

Parameters:

  • textA (string): First text to compare
  • textB (string): Second text to compare
  • options (Object): Comparison options (same as compareFiles)

Returns: Same as compareFiles

Example:

const result = compareTexts('Hello World', 'Hello Universe', { ignoreCase: true });

History Management API

saveComparison(comparison)

Saves a comparison result to history.

Parameters:

  • comparison (Object): Comparison data to save

Example:

const comparison = {
  id: Date.now().toString(),
  fileAName: 'file1.txt',
  fileBName: 'file2.txt',
  type: 'file',
  timestamp: Date.now(),
  result: comparisonResult,
};

saveComparison(comparison);

getHistory()

Retrieves all saved comparisons.

Returns:

Array<{
  id: string,
  fileAName: string,
  fileBName: string,
  type: 'file' | 'text',
  timestamp: number,
  result: ComparisonResult
}>

loadComparison(id)

Loads a specific comparison from history.

Parameters:

  • id (string): Comparison ID

Returns: Comparison object or null if not found

Utility Functions

formatFileSize(bytes)

Formats file size in human-readable format.

Parameters:

  • bytes (number): File size in bytes

Returns: Formatted string (e.g., "1.5 MB")

validateFile(file)

Validates a file for comparison.

Parameters:

  • file (File): File to validate

Returns:

{
  valid: boolean,
  error?: string,
  warnings?: string[]
}

Server-Side REST API

Base URL

https://api.example.com/beyond-compare/v1

Authentication

All API requests require authentication using API keys:

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

Endpoints

POST /compare/files

Compare two files by uploading them.

Request:

POST /compare/files
Content-Type: multipart/form-data

fileA: [file]
fileB: [file]
options: {
  "ignoreWhitespace": true,
  "ignoreCase": false,
  "showLineNumbers": true
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "added": 5,
    "removed": 3,
    "modified": 2,
    "diffs": [
      {
        "type": "added",
        "lineA": "-",
        "lineB": 10,
        "contentA": "",
        "contentB": "new line content"
      }
    ]
  },
  "metadata": {
    "processingTime": 150,
    "fileSizeA": 1024,
    "fileSizeB": 2048
  }
}

POST /compare/texts

Compare two text strings.

Request:

POST /compare/texts
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "textA": "Hello World",
  "textB": "Hello Universe",
  "options": {
    "ignoreWhitespace": false,
    "ignoreCase": true
  }
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "added": 1,
    "removed": 1,
    "modified": 0,
    "diffs": [
      {
        "type": "removed",
        "lineA": 1,
        "lineB": "-",
        "contentA": "Hello World",
        "contentB": ""
      },
      {
        "type": "added",
        "lineA": "-",
        "lineB": 1,
        "contentA": "",
        "contentB": "Hello Universe"
      }
    ]
  }
}

GET /history

Retrieve comparison history.

Query Parameters:

  • limit (number): Maximum number of results (default: 50)
  • offset (number): Number of results to skip (default: 0)
  • type (string): Filter by comparison type ('file' | 'text')

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "1234567890",
      "fileAName": "file1.txt",
      "fileBName": "file2.txt",
      "type": "file",
      "timestamp": 1640995200000,
      "summary": {
        "added": 5,
        "removed": 3,
        "modified": 2
      }
    }
  ],
  "pagination": {
    "total": 100,
    "limit": 50,
    "offset": 0,
    "hasMore": true
  }
}

GET /history/{id}

Retrieve a specific comparison from history.

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "id": "1234567890",
    "fileAName": "file1.txt",
    "fileBName": "file2.txt",
    "type": "file",
    "timestamp": 1640995200000,
    "result": {
      "added": 5,
      "removed": 3,
      "modified": 2,
      "diffs": [...]
    }
  }
}

DELETE /history/{id}

Delete a specific comparison from history.

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Comparison deleted successfully"
}

Error Handling

Client-Side Errors

try {
  const result = await compareFiles(fileA, fileB);
} catch (error) {
  if (error.name === 'FileSizeError') {
    console.error('File too large:', error.message);
  } else if (error.name === 'FileFormatError') {
    console.error('Unsupported file format:', error.message);
  } else {
    console.error('Comparison failed:', error.message);
  }
}

Server-Side Errors

Error Response Format

{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_FILE_FORMAT",
    "message": "Unsupported file format",
    "details": {
      "supportedFormats": ["txt", "js", "json", "xml"]
    }
  }
}

Common Error Codes

  • INVALID_FILE_FORMAT: Unsupported file format
  • FILE_TOO_LARGE: File exceeds size limit
  • INVALID_OPTIONS: Invalid comparison options
  • PROCESSING_ERROR: Internal processing error
  • AUTHENTICATION_ERROR: Invalid API key
  • RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED: Too many requests

Rate Limiting

Limits

  • Free Tier: 100 requests per hour
  • Pro Tier: 1000 requests per hour
  • Enterprise: Custom limits

Headers

X-RateLimit-Limit: 1000
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 999
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1640995200

SDKs and Libraries

JavaScript SDK

npm install beyond-compare-sdk

import { BeyondCompare } from 'beyond-compare-sdk';

const client = new BeyondCompare({
  apiKey: 'your-api-key',
  baseUrl: 'https://api.example.com/beyond-compare/v1',
});

const result = await client.compareFiles(fileA, fileB, {
  ignoreWhitespace: true,
});

Python SDK

pip install beyond-compare-python

from beyond_compare import BeyondCompare

client = BeyondCompare(api_key='your-api-key')

result = client.compare_files(
    file_a='file1.txt',
    file_b='file2.txt',
    options={'ignore_whitespace': True}
)

Webhooks

Configuration

Set up webhooks to receive notifications about comparison events:

POST /webhooks
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "url": "https://your-app.com/webhook",
  "events": ["comparison.completed", "comparison.failed"],
  "secret": "your-webhook-secret"
}

Webhook Payload

{
  "event": "comparison.completed",
  "data": {
    "id": "1234567890",
    "type": "file",
    "result": {
      "added": 5,
      "removed": 3,
      "modified": 2
    }
  },
  "timestamp": 1640995200000
}

Best Practices

Performance Optimization

  1. Use Appropriate Options: Enable relevant options to improve performance
  2. Batch Operations: Use batch endpoints for multiple comparisons
  3. Caching: Cache results when possible
  4. Error Handling: Implement proper error handling and retry logic

Security

  1. API Key Management: Secure your API keys and rotate them regularly
  2. HTTPS Only: Always use HTTPS for API communications
  3. Input Validation: Validate all inputs before processing
  4. Rate Limiting: Respect rate limits and implement backoff strategies

Integration

  1. Async Operations: Use async/await for better performance
  2. Progress Tracking: Implement progress indicators for long operations
  3. User Feedback: Provide clear feedback for all operations
  4. Fallback Handling: Implement fallback mechanisms for API failures

This API reference provides comprehensive documentation for integrating the Beyond Compare tool into your applications and workflows.

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