Jidiff

Jidiff is a name used by several software projects, primarily in the domain of data differencing and patch application. In common usage, it refers to a Java-based library or toolkit designed to compute differences between structured data, such as JSON-like objects, and to produce and apply patches that transform one data instance into another.

Core concepts include diffing at the level of objects and arrays, handling nesting, and producing a patch as a compact representation. Some implementations offer multiple output formats (for example, a JSON-based patch) and options to apply patches to target data structures in a safe or transactional manner. Performance considerations often guide the design, with attention to incremental updates and streaming large diffs.

Jidiff projects are not all the same; there is no single canonical reference. Features, APIs, and licensing can vary between implementations that share the name. Typical use cases include detecting changes in configuration files, synchronizing cached data, auditing data migrations, and supporting incremental updates in distributed systems. Developers may integrate Jidiff into build processes, data pipelines, or runtime applications to automate change detection and application of patches.

Because the name refers to multiple projects, users should consult the respective project documentation to understand supported data formats, patch schemas, and integration options. See also diff, patch, JSON Patch, and data synchronization.