MyersAlgorithmus

MyersAlgorithmus, also known as the Myers diff algorithm, is a computer science algorithm for computing the shortest edit script between two sequences. It is widely used in software development for comparing files and generating differences, most notably in version control systems like Git. The algorithm efficiently identifies lines that have been added, deleted, or modified between two versions of a file.

The core idea behind MyersAlgorithmus is to find the longest common subsequence (LCS) between the two input sequences. Once the LCS is determined, the remaining elements in each sequence constitute the differences. The algorithm achieves efficiency by using a breadth-first search approach to explore possible edit paths. It works by representing the differences as a directed acyclic graph and finding the shortest path in this graph.

The output of MyersAlgorithmus is typically a set of operations (insertions and deletions) that transform one sequence into the other. This diff format is human-readable and machine-parsable, making it a fundamental tool for collaboration and tracking changes in software projects. Its effectiveness lies in its speed and its ability to produce minimal diffs, reducing the amount of information that needs to be processed and displayed.