18.1.5 Outputting Diffs in Time Stamp Order

Applying patch to a multiple-file diff can result in files whose time stamps are out of order. GNU patch has options to restore the time stamps of the updated files (see section 10.5 Updating Time Stamps on Patched Files), but sometimes it is useful to generate a patch that works even if the recipient does not have GNU patch, or does not use these options. One way to do this would be to implement a diff option to output diffs in time stamp order.