Xfiles is an interactive utility for comparing and merging one file tree with another over a network. It supports freeform work on several machines (no need to keep track of what files are changed on which machine). Xfiles can also be used as a cross-validating disk<->disk backup strategy (portions of a disk may go bad at any time, with no simple indication of which files were affected. Cross-validate against a second disk before backup to make sure you aren't backing up bad data).
A client/server program (GUI on the client) traverses a file tree and reports any files that are missing on the server machine, missing on the client machine, or different. For each such file, the file size/sizes and modification date(s) are shown, and a comparison (using Unix diff) can be obtained. For files that are missing from one tree, `similarly named' files in that tree are reported. Inconsistent files can then be copied in either direction or deleted on either machine. The file trees do not need to be accessible via nfs. Files checksums are computed in parallel, so largely similar trees can be compared over a slow network link. The client and server processes can also be run on the same machine.
Xfiles1.4 requires Java jdk1.2 or 1.3. Jdk1.2 and above are not yet available on Macs except on Os/X; it is available on Linux but requires glibc 2 or 2.1 (comes with the recent 2.2 kernels). Upgrading to Jdk1.2 or 1.3 is preferable, both for speed and for an easier configuration. If you cannot use jdk1.2/1.3 download Xfiles version 1.3(.1) and refer to its xfiles.html document rather than reading further.