dhex: A hex editor with a diff … erence

Is it time for a hex editor? It’s time for a hex editor. Of course, the last hex editor we looked at was quite impressive. It’s going to take some serious advances in the art of hex editing to impress us. Or at least a lot more color.

Holy schmoly! Is that a hex editor, or a gene sequencer?! Is that a hex editor, or a military-grade electromagnetic noise generator?! Is that a hex editor, or a cryptographic cracker for infiltrating alien spaceship defenses?!

It’s none of those things — it’s dhex, a hex editor that adds a diff mode so you can compare more than one file at a time, or variations on the same file. And look at all that wonderful color. I am in heaven.

And going by the list of good things that were present in hexcurse, dhex has also hit it out of the park: uses the full screen, lots of color, neatly divided and arranged, labeled function key legend, and so forth.

But as you can see above, dhex adds its own categories that some (most?) other hex editors haven’t quite approached yet. Themes. Custom key configuration. Split-screen diff mode. Color-coded comparison between files. And perhaps even wilder, synchronized vertical and horizontal panning. Ooh-la-la! 😀

So the next time you need a brain massage, I recommend firing up dhex with two similar files, and gently scrolling left and right, and up and down. Guaranteed stress reliever. You’ll feel at least as good as a dog getting its belly scratched.

Eye therapy aside, dhex seems like one of your better options for hex editing, and since it’s kind enough to build a configuration for you the first time you run it, I have absolutely nothing to complain about.

Of course that means the next hex editor we stumble across is really going have a difficult time. dhex will be a hard act to follow. … 😐