I am planning to create a window app for comparing text, web content, code similar to textcompare.io

[bond009]

Hello Team,

I want to create a Windows app to compare text using C# for my college project. I would like to have a compare view similar to https://textcompare.io 

I have attached the image. Is there any library in C# that supports this kind of comparison? Or can I use any different development stack to develop the app in Windows that support compare component,

 

Thank you

 

 

[Brandon H Supervisor]

there are already several existing apps that can do this including Notepad++ and Visual Studio Code, is there are reason you're needing/wanting to create your own solution?

don't have to use an online reviewer.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

The lions share of such an app would be in the comparison library, and that's the part you're wanting to find pre-written code for?

Sounds suspiciously like homework or an assignment, but even with the benefit of the doubt on that - what would your app bring to the table that existing, well developed and supported apps don't already have?

[satukoro]

The first google result for "C# text comparison library" yields this: https://github.com/mmanela/diffplex

This stack overflow post has some information that is a little old but could be a solution for you: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/138331/any-decent-text-diff-merge-engine-for-net

Lastly, if you want to write this yourself, check out Microsoft's documentation on the topic: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/how-to/compare-strings

[+pmrd Subscriber²]

Monaco Code Editor (the same one used in VSCode) can already do this out of the box with only a few lines of code.

 

GitHub - microsoft/monaco-editor: A browser based code editor

[sao123]

On 13/12/2023 at 08:13, bond009 said:

Hello Team,

I want to create a Windows app to compare text using C# for my college project. I would like to have a compare view similar to https://textcompare.io 

I have attached the image. Is there any library in C# that supports this kind of comparison? Or can I use any different development stack to develop the app in Windows that support compare component,

 

Thank you

 

 

 

 

If this is for your college project (AKA Homework)... It would seem to me that the purpose is to write your own algorithm to parse, tokenize, compare the strings, then format the data for output.

This is easily done in both windows forms and asp.net web forms in C#, but you have to write the code yourself...

[bond009]

I wanted to develop a tool where I could have more control over the data and apply the union concept. i.e., If I have two lists, I can compare them; I apply the union concept and find out which data is different in what and copy only that data from either of the inputs. 

@satukoro,

I am looking at your answer, and it will help me to start developing my own text comparison. 

@PmRd After checking your reply, I understood https://textcompare.io using the monaco editor; thank you.

If I get stuck, I will ask again.. thank you..

[abdullahstan]

For creating a Windows app to compare text similar to TextCompare.io, you have a few options in C#.

Libraries for Text Comparison in C#

DiffPlex:

DiffPlex is a popular open-source library for text comparison and visualization in C#.

It provides the ability to compute diffs and can be used to create side-by-side or inline comparisons.

GitHub Repository

StringSimilarity:

If you need algorithms to measure similarity between strings, libraries like StringSimilarity can help.

They focus on comparing strings with methods like Levenshtein Distance or Cosine Similarity.

Creating the Compare View

To replicate the interface shown in the image:

Use WinForms or WPF for developing the UI.

Pair the chosen framework with the DiffPlex library to process and display the differences.

You can create a split view with two RichTextBox components (WinForms) or TextBox controls (WPF) and highlight differences programmatically.

Alternative Development Stacks

Electron.NET:

If you prefer building a cross-platform app with web technologies, use Electron.NET.

It allows you to integrate JavaScript libraries. for text comparison.

Blazor Desktop:

For a modern approach, Blazor Desktop enables building Windows apps with web-like components, and you can embed comparison tools like diff-match-patch.

Python with Tkinter or PyQt:

If you’re open to using Python, GUI frameworks like Tkinter or PyQt have libraries like difflib for generating text differences.

[danielledunham]

On 11/01/2025 at 11:52, abdullahstan said:

For creating a Windows app to compare text similar to TextCompare.io, you have a few options in C#.

Libraries for Text Comparison in C#

DiffPlex:

DiffPlex is a popular open-source library for text comparison and visualization in C#.

It provides the ability to compute diffs and can be used to create side-by-side or inline comparisons.

GitHub Repository

StringSimilarity:

If you need algorithms to measure similarity between strings, libraries like StringSimilarity can help.

They focus on comparing strings with methods like Levenshtein Distance or Cosine Similarity.

Creating the Compare View

To replicate the interface shown in the image:

Use WinForms or WPF for developing the UI.

Pair the chosen framework with the DiffPlex library to process and display the differences.

You can create a split view with two RichTextBox components (WinForms) or TextBox controls (WPF) and highlight differences programmatically.

Alternative Development Stacks

Electron.NET:

If you prefer building a cross-platform app with web technologies, use Electron.NET.

It allows you to integrate JavaScript libraries. for text comparison.

Blazor Desktop:

For a modern approach, Blazor Desktop enables building Windows apps with web-like components, and you can embed comparison tools like diff-match-patch.

Python with Tkinter or PyQt:

If you’re open to using Python, GUI frameworks like Tkinter or PyQt have libraries like difflib for generating text differences.

I’ve explored building a Windows app for comparing text, similar to TextCompare.io, and in C# I’d likely use DiffPlex for computing differences and visualizing them. For the UI, I’d choose WPF or WinForms and implement a split view with RichTextBox or TextBox controls to highlight changes. If I wanted a modern or cross-platform approach, I’d consider Blazor Desktop or Electron.NET, while Python alternatives like Tkinter with difflib are also interesting.

[tiger10001]

You can use DiffPlex, which is a popular C# library for text comparison. It supports side-by-side and inline diff views and works well with WPF or WinForms, so it's a good choice for building a UI similar to textcompare.io.

If you want more control, you can also use diff-match-patch (Google’s library) and build your own UI.

Alternatively, you could use WebView2 and implement the compare view with HTML/JS libraries, which is often easier for UI.

For reference, tools like diffsnap are good examples of clean compare interfaces.