1. If you rearrange your functions you will see a lot of additions and deletions while semantically there is no change in the program. It's just noise.
2. If you rename a variable you don't really have any actual change in places where it is referenced but text diff will again show a lot of noise. But the code references is still the same code.
I didn't say it doesn't. Renaming is a change and you see it but you don't need to see it in every place that refers to that variable. For them there is simply no semantic change they still reference the same variable.
> At least to me whitespace does convey meaning
Can you give an example? If two programs behave exactly the same how whitespace convey a semantic change?
> order of functions
You can see order changes in a structured diff as well if you want but you don't need to hundreds of line of removal and addition like text diff. You would see only the relevant thing which is reordering.
In C, I use FOO() for a macro, foo() for a function like macro and foo () for a function.
Also:
statement1;
statement2;
statement3;
statement4; statement1;
statement2;
statement3;
statement4;
> You can see order changes in a structured diff as well if you want but you don't need to hundreds of line of removal and addition like text diff. You would see only the relevant thing which is reordering.
That is nice then, I thought diffing an AST would lose that ability.