How can a reader effectively discern changes in a newer edition of the same book?

Question

This question pertains especially to textbooks (eg: for law, which necessitates new editions every 2 or 3 years), and premises the following:

1. Writing only broadly and briefly about changes, the authors did not detail or individualise all of them in the newer edition.

2. It is already too inefficient to reread the prior and newer edition, and then compare each section from each edition side-by-side, of 1 book alone.

3. 2 is exacerbated by unreliability and human error; your eyes might easily miss something.

4. The book may or may not be available in a computerised format.

So are there any resources, tips, or tools, such as any program that can discern and highlight all changes between 2 files (ePUB or PDF) input by you?

Answer 1

There are a lot of files comparison tools. They all present differences in a visual text format. Some of the more famous ones are:

Web apps

• DiffNow
• Mergely

They both allow to upload the files you want to compare, and support a lot of formats, like .pdf and .epub.

Programs

• KDiff3 (current version 2015-05-13 - runs on Linux, Windows, Mac)
• WinMerge (c.v. 2013-02-02 - supports only Windows)
• ExamDiff (c.v. March 18, 2011 - supports only Windows)

Also, check this Wikipedia page which, well, compares file comparison tools.