Comparing h5 files

Question

I often have to compare hdf files. How I do it is either with a binary diff (which tells me files are different even though the actual numbers inside are the same) or by dumping the content into a txt file with h5dump and the comparing the content of the two files (which is also quite annoying).

I was wondering if there is a more clever way to do this, perhaps a feature of h5 or of softwares like HDFView or Panoply.

usually comparing binary formats is a dead end; you definitely need specialized software — ivan866, Aug 22 '20 at 21:28

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 25 '17 at 11:13

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Perhaps hdiff is what you require ? Some examples here

answered Jan 25 '17 at 11:13

Brian Agnew

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That looks very much like what I was looking for. – Manfredo Jan 25 '17 at 12:55
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The only thing is that at least for my version of `hdf5` (1.8.18) the command is `h5diff` instead of `hdiff` as mentioned in the example page. – Manfredo Jan 25 '17 at 12:58
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hddif is for HDF4 files, h5diff is for HDF5. – John Readey Jan 25 '17 at 17:22
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links are broken now – Ronak Poriya Jun 30 '18 at 12:10

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 12 '19 at 18:57

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h5diff can be used to compare HDF5 files, and on Ubuntu it can be installed with

apt-get install hdf5-tools

then it's simply

h5diff file1.hdf5 file2.hdf5

answered Dec 12 '19 at 18:57

feilong

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why isnt this question in `Cross Validated` section? i thought HDF5 is a specific format used in big data and alikes – ivan866 Aug 22 '20 at 21:30

Comparing h5 files

2 Answers2

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