Package diffs

You can now view diffs for source packages in boths PPAs and Ubuntu’s primary archive.

Celso Providelo, the Launchpad developer who’s been working on this, told me a bit more about it:

“This is a really easy way for anyone to see what changes have been made in a package. Rather than having to download a source package and then manually run a diff, diffs are available directly from Launchpad.

“So, if you want to double-check a source package’s changelog, this is a great way to do it. Whether it’s in a PPA or the primary Ubuntu archive, it allows anyone to check for mistakes. Another really cool thing is that if somebody uploads a package to their PPA and it is derived from something already in Ubuntu, Launchpad provides a diff between the published Ubuntu package and the version in the PPA.

“Ppackage diffs are available for packages uploaded since 01.30 UTC on 29th May.”