Hex Editor

DHEX – ncurses-based hex editor with diff mode

DHEX is a hex editor.

It can be used to alter individual bytes in large files. Since it is a text-mode program based on ncurses, it can run in numerous scenarios.

Its distinguishing feature is the diff mode: With this mode, the user has a visual tool for file comparison. This mode is invoked when DHEX is called with two instead of one file as parameters.

The main screen is broken down into three columns: The first column contains the offset within the file for the current line. The second column contains the bytes in the file in hex format. Finally, the third column contains the same bytes, but this time in ascii format. If a byte is not printable, it is being substituted with a ‘.’.

How many bytes are are being shown in a line depends on the width of the terminal. For example, if the terminal is 80 characters wide, 16 bytes are being shown in each line.

Other features include:

  • Goto screen – jump to a specific address directly without scrolling.
  • Bookmarks – up to 10 are available.
  • Searching.
  • Search logs lets you track changes in different iterations of files.
  • HexCal – a small 64 bit calculator. This calculator is capable of not only performing arithmetic operations (+, -, *, /, modulo), but also logic ones (and, or, xor, shift).
  • File correlation is available in diff mode. This will try to find the optimal offset between the two files. There are three algorithms available for finding this offset: Searching for the best match (as many bytes as possible are the same), the longest match (as many consecutive bytes match as possible), or the minimum difference (as little differences between the bytes as possible).
  • Themeable.

Website: www.dettus.net/dhex
Support:
Developer: Thomas Dettbarn
License: GNU General Public License either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version

DHEX
Click for full size image

DHEX is written in C. Learn C with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

Return to Hex Editors | Alternatives to hexdump


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