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Diff two AUTOSAR code-generation output folders (MATLAB/Simulink Embedded Coder) and show only the changes that matter.
Regenerating a Simulink model rewrites timestamps, UUIDs, comment banners and auto-generated variable names even when the behaviour is identical. This tool classifies every hunk as real or ignorable, then gives you two ways to review the result — a self-contained HTML report and a side-by-side desktop viewer, both over one compare core, so a verdict never depends on how you look at it.
| For | Runs when | |
|---|---|---|
| Viewer | reviewing interactively: folder tree, two-pane diff, minimap, review notes | no folders on the command line (or a double-clicked .exe) |
| CLI | pipelines and scripts — writes the report, exit code gates the build | both folders named on the command line |
Zero dependencies for the compare itself — Python 3.8+ standard library only for the CLI and the HTML report: no pip install, no server, no internet access. The viewer adds PySide6, imported only when it opens.
📖 Usage guide — every flag, the viewer's keys, the exact noise rules, the report's layout, CI and packaging. 🏗 Architecture — how the pieces fit and why.
Run straight from a clone — nothing to install:
git clone https://github.com/longvo92/codegen-compare-tool.gitpython -m compare_tool --helpOr install it as a command (compare-tool):
pip install git+https://github.com/longvo92/codegen-compare-tool.gitFor machines where you cannot install anything, build a single file.
python -m compare_tool <old_gen_folder> <new_gen_folder> --report out.htmlWrites a self-contained HTML report that opens in any browser and can be mailed as one file.
Leave the folders out and the viewer opens instead — drop the two folders onto it:
python -m compare_toolExit codes — the contract with your pipeline:
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
0 |
No real changes |
1 |
Real changes found (the CI gate) |
2 |
Compare INCOMPLETE — a path could not be listed, read or compared, or the report could not be written |
Exit 2 always shows: !! in the terminal, a red banner in the report. --exit-zero does not suppress it. A run with no record must never look like a clean one.
| Kind | Rule | Files |
|---|---|---|
comment |
C comments (//, /* */), XML comments (<!-- -->) |
.c .h .arxml .a2l |
rename |
Consistent 1-to-1 renaming of generator-owned names. Anything the mapping cannot fully explain stays a real change | .c .h |
uuid |
UUID="..." attributes |
.arxml .xml |
timestamp |
<ADMIN-DATA> blocks, <DATE> |
.arxml .xml |
sw-version |
<SW-VERSION> stamps, bumped on every regenerate |
.arxml .xml |
description |
<DESC>, <LONG-NAME>, <INTRODUCTION> |
.arxml .xml |
whitespace |
Indentation, trailing spaces, blank lines | all |
line-endings |
CRLF vs LF, BOM | all |
If it cannot be proven to be noise, it is a real change. SIG_TORQUE_MIN → SIG_TORQUE_MAX is a real change; rtb_AND_c4nxjoom3d → rtb_AND_j2kqp1wxab is a rename. A block that moved intact is labelled moved, coloured blue, and still counts as Modified. Comment-only files are their own category, separate from Unimportant.
Both surfaces open with what changed in AUTOSAR terms, not just in text: port interfaces, SWCs, ports, runnables, events (including a TIMING-EVENT period going 0.01s → 0.02s), Rte_* access points and A2L CHARACTERISTIC/MEASUREMENT objects. Files are grouped by Simulink model.
→ what is extracted, and how it is shown
pip install "codegen-compare-tool[viewer]"python -m compare_tool
Folder tree, two-pane diff with minimap and syntax colouring, F7/F8 through every change in the whole compare, Ctrl+F across files, per-change review notes, and a commit picker so one folder in a git checkout can be compared against its own history. The built-in Help → User guide (F1) works offline.
→ reading a scan, review mode, every shortcut
One self-contained file per compare: badge toggles, folder tree, filter box, collapsible diffs. It shows three lines either side of each real change, not the whole file — the noise elsewhere takes up no space until you ask for it. Dark and light are both embedded, so the switch fetches nothing on a machine with no internet.
→ the layout, the badges, what collapses and why
python -m compare_tool old_dir new_dir --exit-zero --exclude compare_report.html--exit-zero keeps the build green on regenerated code; --exclude keeps the previous run's report from counting as a diff. Publish compare_report.html as a build artifact. See azure-pipelines.yml for a working example.
→ flags and packaging for locked-down machines
python -m unittest discover -s testsCI runs the suite on Linux and Windows against Python 3.8 and 3.11, plus a headless scan of the fixture tree checking both the report and the exit code.
Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please keep the compare core stdlib-only — it has to run on locked-down build servers, so PySide6 stays confined to compare_tool/qtviewer/ and is imported only when the viewer opens — and add a test under tests/ for any new rule. docs/architecture.md has the module map and a where to change what table.
Long Vo Thien
Released under the MIT License © 2026 Long Vo Thien.