In computing, fc (File Compare) is a command-line program in MS-DOS and compatible systems, OS/2, and Windows, that compares multiple files and outputs the differences between them. It is similar to the Unix commands comm, cmp and diff.
History The fc command has been included in Microsoft operating systems since MS-DOS 2.11 (e.g. on the 1984/85 DEC Rainbow release)Rainbow MS-DOS Version 2.11 Documentation : Digital Equipment Corporation October 1984 and is included in all versions of Microsoft Windows.MS-DOS and Windows command line fc command fc has also been included in IBM OS/2 Version 2.0.OS/2 2.0 Redbooks Volume 2 - DOS and Windows Environment (GG24-3731)
DR DOS 6.0 includes an implementation of the command.DR DOS 6.0 User Guide Optimisation and Configuration Tips
The command is also available in FreeDOS. This implementation is licensed under the GPLv2+.
Functionality fc can compare text files as well as binary files.FC - file compare - Windows CMD - SS64.com The latest versions can compare ASCII or Unicode text. The result of comparisons are output to the standard output. The output of fc is intended primarily to be human readable and may be difficult to use in other programs.
See also Data comparison comp (command) List of DOS commands
References
Further reading
External links
fc | Microsoft Docs Open source FC implementation that comes with MS-DOS v2.0