Merging Terms and Definitions

The following table is a list of basic merge terms and definitions:

Term	Definition
Ancestor or base	The common base file from which other files are derived.
Derivative or branch	A version of a file created by making changes in the ancestor file.
Target or output	The final merged file.
Addition	A line of text added to a derivative file that is not in the ancestor file.
Deletion	A line of text deleted in a derivative file that is present in the ancestor file.
Change or Modification	A line of text that was modified in one of the derivative files. The content of this line of text differs between the derivative file and the ancestor file.
Difference	A line of text added, deleted, or modified in a derivative file compared with the ancestor file.
Conflict	A line of text that was changed differently in more than one derivative file. The difference in this line of text is not the same between derivative files and the ancestor file.