| Getopt::Mixed - [OBSOLETE] getopt processing with both long and short options |
Getopt::Mixed - [OBSOLETE] getopt processing with both long and short options
This document describes version 1.12 of Getopt::Mixed, released February 8, 2014.
use Getopt::Mixed;
Getopt::Mixed::getOptions(...option-descriptions...);
...examine $opt_* variables...
or
use Getopt::Mixed "nextOption";
Getopt::Mixed::init(...option-descriptions...);
while (($option, $value) = nextOption()) {
...process option...
}
Getopt::Mixed::cleanup();
This module is obsolete.
This package was my response to the standard modules Getopt::Std and Getopt::Long. Std doesn't support long options, and Long didn't support short options. I wanted both, since long options are easier to remember and short options are faster to type.
However, years ago Getopt::Long was changed to support short options as well, and it has the huge advantage of being part of the standard Perl distribution. So, Getopt::Mixed is now effectively obsolete. I don't intend to make any more changes, but I'm leaving it available for people who have code that already uses it. For new modules, I recommend using Getopt::Long like this:
use Getopt::Long 2.17; # Released with Perl 5.005
Getopt::Long::Configure(qw(bundling no_getopt_compat));
GetOptions(...option-descriptions...);
This package was intended to be the ``Getopt-to-end-all-Getop's''. It
combines (I hope) flexibility and simplicity. It supports both short
options (introduced by -) and long options (introduced by --).
Short options which do not take an argument can be grouped together.
Short options which do take an argument must be the last option in
their group, because everything following the option will be
considered to be its argument.
There are two methods for using Getopt::Mixed: the simple method and the flexible method. Both methods use the same format for option descriptions.
The option-description arguments required by init and getOptions
are strings composed of individual option descriptions. Several
option descriptions can appear in the same string if they are
separated by whitespace.
Each description consists of the option name and an optional trailing
argument specifier. Option names may consist of any characters but
whitespace, =, :, and >.
Values for argument specifiers are:
<none> option does not take an argument =s :s option takes a mandatory (=) or optional (:) string argument =i :i option takes a mandatory (=) or optional (:) integer argument =f :f option takes a mandatory (=) or optional (:) real number argument >new option is a synonym for option `new'
The > specifier is not really an argument specifier. It
defines an option as being a synonym for another option. For example,
``a=i apples>a'' would define -a as an option that requires an
integer argument and --apples as a synonym for -a. Only one
level of synonyms is supported, and the root option must be listed
first. For example, ``apples>a a=i'' and ``a=i apples>a oranges>apples''
are illegal; use ``a=i apples>a oranges>a'' if that's what you want.
For example, in the option description: ``a b=i c:s apple baker>b charlie:s'' -a and --apple do not take arguments -b takes a mandatory integer argument --baker is a synonym for -b -c and --charlie take an optional string argument
If the first argument to init or getOptions is entirely
non-alphanumeric characters with no whitespace, it represents the
characters which can begin options.
From the user's perspective, short options are introduced by a dash
(-) and long options are introduced by a double dash (--).
Short options may be combined (``-a -b'' can be written ``-ab''), but an
option that takes an argument must be the last one in its group,
because anything following it is considered part of the argument. A
double dash by itself marks the end of the options; all arguments
following it are treated as normal arguments, not options. A single
dash by itself is treated as a normal argument, not an option.
Long options may be abbreviated. An option --all-the-time could be abbreviated --all, --a--tim, or even --a. Note that --time would not work; the abbreviation must start at the beginning of the option name. If an abbreviation is ambiguous, an error message will be printed.
In the following examples, -i and --int take integer arguments, -f and --float take floating point arguments, and -s and --string take string arguments. All other options do not take an argument.
-i24 -f24.5 -sHello -i=24 --int=-27 -f=24.5 --float=0.27 -s=Hello --string=Hello
If the argument is required, it can also be separated by whitespace:
-i 24 --int -27 -f 24.5 --float 0.27 -s Hello --string Hello
Note that if the option is followed by =, whatever follows the =
is the argument, even if it's the null string. In the example
-i= 24 -f= 24.5 -s= Hello
-i and -f will cause an error, because the null string is not a number, but -s is perfectly legal; its argument is the null string, not ``Hello''.
Remember that optional arguments cannot be separated from the option by whitespace.
The simple method is
use Getopt::Mixed;
Getopt::Mixed::getOptions(...option-descriptions...);
You then examine the $opt_* variables to find out what options were
specified and the @ARGV array to see what arguments are left.
If -a is an option that doesn't take an argument, then $opt_a
will be set to 1 if the option is present, or left undefined if the
option is not present.
If -b is an option that takes an argument, then $opt_b will be
set to the value of the argument if the option is present, or left
undefined if the option is not present. If the argument is optional
but not supplied, $opt_b will be set to the null string.
Note that even if you specify that an option requires a string argument, you can still get the null string (if the user specifically enters it). If the option requires a numeric argument, you will never get the null string (because it isn't a number).
When converting the option name to a Perl identifier, any non-word
characters in the name will be converted to underscores (_).
If the same option occurs more than once, only the last occurrence will be recorded. If that's not acceptable, you'll have to use the flexible method instead.
The flexible method is
use Getopt::Mixed "nextOption";
Getopt::Mixed::init(...option-descriptions...);
while (($option, $value, $pretty) = nextOption()) {
...process option...
}
Getopt::Mixed::cleanup();
This lets you process arguments one at a time. You can then handle repeated options any way you want to. It also lets you see option names with non-alphanumeric characters without any translation. This is also the only method that lets you find out what order the options and other arguments were in.
First, you call Getopt::Mixed::init with the option descriptions.
Then, you keep calling nextOption until it returns an empty list.
Finally, you call Getopt::Mixed::cleanup when you're done. The
remaining (non-option) arguments will be found in @ARGV.
Each call to nextOption returns a list of the next option, its value, and the option as the user typed it. The value will be undefined if the option does not take an argument. The option is stripped of its starter (e.g., you get ``a'' and ``foo'', not ``-a'' or ``--foo''). If you want to print an error message, use the third element, which does include the option starter.
Getopt::Mixed provides one other function you can use. abortMsg
prints its arguments on STDERR, plus your program's name and a
newline. It then exits with status 1. For example, if foo.pl
calls abortMsg like this:
Getopt::Mixed::abortMsg("Error");
The output will be:
foo.pl: Error
There are several customization variables you can set. All of these variables should be set after calling Getopt::Mixed::init and before calling nextOption.
If you set any of these variables, you must check the version number first. The easiest way to do this is like this:
use Getopt::Mixed 1.006;
If you are using the simple method, and you want to set these variables, you'll need to call init before calling getOptions, like this:
use Getopt::Mixed 1.006;
Getopt::Mixed::init(...option-descriptions...);
...set configuration variables...
Getopt::Mixed::getOptions(); # IMPORTANT: no parameters
$REQUIRE_ORDER means that no options can follow the first argument which isn't an option.
$PERMUTE means that all options are treated as if they preceded all other arguments.
$RETURN_IN_ORDER means that all arguments maintain their ordering. When nextOption is called, and the next argument is not an option, it returns the null string as the option and the argument as the value. nextOption never returns the null list until all the arguments have been processed.
$_[0] is the
position in @ARGV where the option came from. $_[1] is the option as
the user typed it (including the option start character). $_[2] is
either undef or a string describing the reason the option was not
recognized (Currently, the only possible value is 'ambiguous', for a
long option with several possible matches). The option has already
been removed from @ARGV. To put it back, you can say:
splice(@ARGV,$_[0],0,$_[1]);
The function can do anything you want to @ARGV. It should return
whatever you want nextOption to return.
The default is a function that prints an error message and exits the program.
$_[0] is the
position in @ARGV where the option came from. $_[1] is the text
following the option, or undefined if there was no text following the
option. $_[2] is the name of the option as the user typed it
(including the option start character), suitable for error messages.
$_[3] is the argument type specifier.
The function can do anything you want to @ARGV. It should return
the value for this option.
The default is a function that prints an error message and exits the
program if the argument is not the right type for the option. You can
also adjust the behavior of the default function by changing
$intRegexp or $floatRegexp.
$typeChars, you should set this to a function
which will check arguments of the new types.
Getopt::Mixed requires no configuration files or environment variables.
None reported.
! argument specifier of Getopt::Long is not supported, but you
could have options --foo and --nofoo and then do something like:
$opt_foo = 0 if $opt_nofoo;
The @ argument specifier of Getopt::Long is not supported. If you
want your values pushed into an array, you'll have to use nextOption
and do it yourself.
Christopher J. Madsen <perl AT cjmweb.net>
Please report any bugs or feature requests
to <bug-Getopt-Mixed AT rt.cpan.org>
or through the web interface at
http://rt.cpan.org/Public/Bug/Report.html.
You can follow or contribute to Getopt::Mixed's development at http://github.com/madsen/getopt-mixed.
Thanks are also due to Andreas Koenig for helping Getopt::Mixed conform to the standards for Perl modules and for answering a bunch of questions. Any remaining deficiencies are my fault.
This software is copyright (c) 1995 by Christopher J. Madsen.
This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.
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| Getopt::Mixed - [OBSOLETE] getopt processing with both long and short options |