file diffs should work on Solaris too

chef/lib/chef/provider/file.rb

@@ -58,9 +58,15 @@ def diff_current_from_content source_content
 
       def diff_current source_path
         begin
-          # -N: Treat missing files as empty
+ 	  # Solaris diff doesn't support -N (treat missing files as empty) 
+          # For compatibility we'll create a temp file if the file does not exist
+          # and substitute it
+	  unless ::File.exists?(source_path) 
+	    altfile = Tempfile.new('chef-tempfile')
+            source_path = altfile.path
+          end
           # -u: Unified diff format
-          result = shell_out("diff -u -N #{@current_resource.path} #{source_path}" )
+          result = shell_out("diff -u #{@current_resource.path} #{source_path}" )
           # diff will set a non-zero return code even when there's 
           # valid stdout results, if it encounters something unexpected
           # So as long as we have output, we'll show it.
@@ -76,7 +82,7 @@ def diff_current source_path
         rescue Exception => e
           # Should *not* receive this, but in some circumstances it seems that 
           # an exception can be thrown even using shell_out instead of shell_out!
-          "Could not determine diff"
+          "Could not determine diff. Error: #{e.message}"
         end
       end 
 

chef/spec/unit/provider/file_spec.rb

@@ -284,12 +284,14 @@
          @provider.load_current_resource
          result = @provider.diff_current_from_content "foo baz"
          # remove the file name info which varies.
-         require 'pp'
-         pp result
          result.shift(2)
-         result.should == ["@@ -0,0 +1 @@", "+foo baz"] 
+	 # Result appearance seems to vary slightly under solaris diff
+         # So we'll compare the second line which is common to both.
+         # Solaris: -1,1 +1,0 @@, "+foo baz"
+	 # Linux/Mac: -1,0, +1 @@, "+foo baz"
+         result.length.should == 2
+         result[1].should == "+foo baz"
        end
     end
   end
 end
-