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(diff.info)Changing Structure

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Handling Changes to the Directory Structure
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   `diff' and `patch' do not handle some changes to directory
structure.  For example, suppose one directory tree contains a directory
named `D' with some subsidiary files, and another contains a file with
the same name `D'.  `diff -r' does not output enough information for
`patch' to transform the the directory subtree into the file.

   There should be a way to specify that a file has been deleted without
having to include its entire contents in the patch file.  There should
also be a way to tell `patch' that a file was renamed, even if there is
no way for `diff' to generate such information.

   These problems can be fixed by extending the `diff' output format to
represent changes in directory structure, and extending `patch' to
understand these extensions.