| @node Getopt, Argp, , Parsing Program Arguments |
| @section Parsing program options using @code{getopt} |
| |
| The @code{getopt} and @code{getopt_long} functions automate some of the |
| chore involved in parsing typical unix command line options. |
| |
| @menu |
| * Using Getopt:: Using the @code{getopt} function. |
| * Example of Getopt:: An example of parsing options with @code{getopt}. |
| * Getopt Long Options:: GNU suggests utilities accept long-named |
| options; here is one way to do. |
| * Getopt Long Option Example:: An example of using @code{getopt_long}. |
| @end menu |
| |
| @node Using Getopt, Example of Getopt, , Getopt |
| @subsection Using the @code{getopt} function |
| |
| Here are the details about how to call the @code{getopt} function. To |
| use this facility, your program must include the header file |
| @file{unistd.h}. |
| @pindex unistd.h |
| |
| @comment unistd.h |
| @comment POSIX.2 |
| @deftypevar int opterr |
| If the value of this variable is nonzero, then @code{getopt} prints an |
| error message to the standard error stream if it encounters an unknown |
| option character or an option with a missing required argument. This is |
| the default behavior. If you set this variable to zero, @code{getopt} |
| does not print any messages, but it still returns the character @code{?} |
| to indicate an error. |
| @end deftypevar |
| |
| @comment unistd.h |
| @comment POSIX.2 |
| @deftypevar int optopt |
| When @code{getopt} encounters an unknown option character or an option |
| with a missing required argument, it stores that option character in |
| this variable. You can use this for providing your own diagnostic |
| messages. |
| @end deftypevar |
| |
| @comment unistd.h |
| @comment POSIX.2 |
| @deftypevar int optind |
| This variable is set by @code{getopt} to the index of the next element |
| of the @var{argv} array to be processed. Once @code{getopt} has found |
| all of the option arguments, you can use this variable to determine |
| where the remaining non-option arguments begin. The initial value of |
| this variable is @code{1}. |
| @end deftypevar |
| |
| @comment unistd.h |
| @comment POSIX.2 |
| @deftypevar {char *} optarg |
| This variable is set by @code{getopt} to point at the value of the |
| option argument, for those options that accept arguments. |
| @end deftypevar |
| |
| @comment unistd.h |
| @comment POSIX.2 |
| @deftypefun int getopt (int @var{argc}, char *const *@var{argv}, const char *@var{options}) |
| @safety{@prelim{}@mtunsafe{@mtasurace{:getopt} @mtsenv{}}@asunsafe{@ascuheap{} @ascuintl{} @asulock{} @asucorrupt{}}@acunsafe{@acsmem{} @aculock{} @acucorrupt{}}} |
| @c Swapping elements of passed-in argv may be partial in case of |
| @c cancellation. Gettext brings about a whole lot of AS and AC safety |
| @c issues. The getopt API involves returning values in the |
| @c non-thread-specific optarg variable, which adds another thread-safety |
| @c issue. Given print_errors, it may output errors to stderr, which may |
| @c self-deadlock, leak locks, or encounter (in a signal handler) or |
| @c leave (in case of cancellation) stderr in an inconsistent state. |
| @c Various implicit, indirect uses of malloc, in uses of memstream and |
| @c asprintf for error-printing, bring about the usual malloc issues. |
| @c (The explicit use of malloc in a conditional situation in |
| @c _getopt_initialize is never exercised in glibc.) |
| @c |
| @c _getopt_internal |
| @c _getopt_internal_r |
| @c gettext |
| @c _getopt_initialize |
| @c getenv |
| @c malloc if USE_NONOPTION_FLAGS, never defined in libc |
| @c open_memstream |
| @c lockfile, unlockfile, __fxprintf -> stderr |
| @c asprintf |
| The @code{getopt} function gets the next option argument from the |
| argument list specified by the @var{argv} and @var{argc} arguments. |
| Normally these values come directly from the arguments received by |
| @code{main}. |
| |
| The @var{options} argument is a string that specifies the option |
| characters that are valid for this program. An option character in this |
| string can be followed by a colon (@samp{:}) to indicate that it takes a |
| required argument. If an option character is followed by two colons |
| (@samp{::}), its argument is optional; this is a GNU extension. |
| |
| @code{getopt} has three ways to deal with options that follow |
| non-options @var{argv} elements. The special argument @samp{--} forces |
| in all cases the end of option scanning. |
| |
| @itemize @bullet |
| @item |
| The default is to permute the contents of @var{argv} while scanning it |
| so that eventually all the non-options are at the end. This allows |
| options to be given in any order, even with programs that were not |
| written to expect this. |
| |
| @item |
| If the @var{options} argument string begins with a hyphen (@samp{-}), this |
| is treated specially. It permits arguments that are not options to be |
| returned as if they were associated with option character @samp{\1}. |
| |
| @item |
| POSIX demands the following behavior: The first non-option stops option |
| processing. This mode is selected by either setting the environment |
| variable @code{POSIXLY_CORRECT} or beginning the @var{options} argument |
| string with a plus sign (@samp{+}). |
| @end itemize |
| |
| The @code{getopt} function returns the option character for the next |
| command line option. When no more option arguments are available, it |
| returns @code{-1}. There may still be more non-option arguments; you |
| must compare the external variable @code{optind} against the @var{argc} |
| parameter to check this. |
| |
| If the option has an argument, @code{getopt} returns the argument by |
| storing it in the variable @var{optarg}. You don't ordinarily need to |
| copy the @code{optarg} string, since it is a pointer into the original |
| @var{argv} array, not into a static area that might be overwritten. |
| |
| If @code{getopt} finds an option character in @var{argv} that was not |
| included in @var{options}, or a missing option argument, it returns |
| @samp{?} and sets the external variable @code{optopt} to the actual |
| option character. If the first character of @var{options} is a colon |
| (@samp{:}), then @code{getopt} returns @samp{:} instead of @samp{?} to |
| indicate a missing option argument. In addition, if the external |
| variable @code{opterr} is nonzero (which is the default), @code{getopt} |
| prints an error message. |
| @end deftypefun |
| |
| @node Example of Getopt |
| @subsection Example of Parsing Arguments with @code{getopt} |
| |
| Here is an example showing how @code{getopt} is typically used. The |
| key points to notice are: |
| |
| @itemize @bullet |
| @item |
| Normally, @code{getopt} is called in a loop. When @code{getopt} returns |
| @code{-1}, indicating no more options are present, the loop terminates. |
| |
| @item |
| A @code{switch} statement is used to dispatch on the return value from |
| @code{getopt}. In typical use, each case just sets a variable that |
| is used later in the program. |
| |
| @item |
| A second loop is used to process the remaining non-option arguments. |
| @end itemize |
| |
| @smallexample |
| @include testopt.c.texi |
| @end smallexample |
| |
| Here are some examples showing what this program prints with different |
| combinations of arguments: |
| |
| @smallexample |
| % testopt |
| aflag = 0, bflag = 0, cvalue = (null) |
| |
| % testopt -a -b |
| aflag = 1, bflag = 1, cvalue = (null) |
| |
| % testopt -ab |
| aflag = 1, bflag = 1, cvalue = (null) |
| |
| % testopt -c foo |
| aflag = 0, bflag = 0, cvalue = foo |
| |
| % testopt -cfoo |
| aflag = 0, bflag = 0, cvalue = foo |
| |
| % testopt arg1 |
| aflag = 0, bflag = 0, cvalue = (null) |
| Non-option argument arg1 |
| |
| % testopt -a arg1 |
| aflag = 1, bflag = 0, cvalue = (null) |
| Non-option argument arg1 |
| |
| % testopt -c foo arg1 |
| aflag = 0, bflag = 0, cvalue = foo |
| Non-option argument arg1 |
| |
| % testopt -a -- -b |
| aflag = 1, bflag = 0, cvalue = (null) |
| Non-option argument -b |
| |
| % testopt -a - |
| aflag = 1, bflag = 0, cvalue = (null) |
| Non-option argument - |
| @end smallexample |
| |
| @node Getopt Long Options |
| @subsection Parsing Long Options with @code{getopt_long} |
| |
| To accept GNU-style long options as well as single-character options, |
| use @code{getopt_long} instead of @code{getopt}. This function is |
| declared in @file{getopt.h}, not @file{unistd.h}. You should make every |
| program accept long options if it uses any options, for this takes |
| little extra work and helps beginners remember how to use the program. |
| |
| @comment getopt.h |
| @comment GNU |
| @deftp {Data Type} {struct option} |
| This structure describes a single long option name for the sake of |
| @code{getopt_long}. The argument @var{longopts} must be an array of |
| these structures, one for each long option. Terminate the array with an |
| element containing all zeros. |
| |
| The @code{struct option} structure has these fields: |
| |
| @table @code |
| @item const char *name |
| This field is the name of the option. It is a string. |
| |
| @item int has_arg |
| This field says whether the option takes an argument. It is an integer, |
| and there are three legitimate values: @w{@code{no_argument}}, |
| @code{required_argument} and @code{optional_argument}. |
| |
| @item int *flag |
| @itemx int val |
| These fields control how to report or act on the option when it occurs. |
| |
| If @code{flag} is a null pointer, then the @code{val} is a value which |
| identifies this option. Often these values are chosen to uniquely |
| identify particular long options. |
| |
| If @code{flag} is not a null pointer, it should be the address of an |
| @code{int} variable which is the flag for this option. The value in |
| @code{val} is the value to store in the flag to indicate that the option |
| was seen. |
| @end table |
| @end deftp |
| |
| @comment getopt.h |
| @comment GNU |
| @deftypefun int getopt_long (int @var{argc}, char *const *@var{argv}, const char *@var{shortopts}, const struct option *@var{longopts}, int *@var{indexptr}) |
| @safety{@prelim{}@mtunsafe{@mtasurace{:getopt} @mtsenv{}}@asunsafe{@ascuheap{} @ascuintl{} @asulock{} @asucorrupt{}}@acunsafe{@acsmem{} @aculock{} @acucorrupt{}}} |
| @c Same issues as getopt. |
| Decode options from the vector @var{argv} (whose length is @var{argc}). |
| The argument @var{shortopts} describes the short options to accept, just as |
| it does in @code{getopt}. The argument @var{longopts} describes the long |
| options to accept (see above). |
| |
| When @code{getopt_long} encounters a short option, it does the same |
| thing that @code{getopt} would do: it returns the character code for the |
| option, and stores the options argument (if it has one) in @code{optarg}. |
| |
| When @code{getopt_long} encounters a long option, it takes actions based |
| on the @code{flag} and @code{val} fields of the definition of that |
| option. |
| |
| If @code{flag} is a null pointer, then @code{getopt_long} returns the |
| contents of @code{val} to indicate which option it found. You should |
| arrange distinct values in the @code{val} field for options with |
| different meanings, so you can decode these values after |
| @code{getopt_long} returns. If the long option is equivalent to a short |
| option, you can use the short option's character code in @code{val}. |
| |
| If @code{flag} is not a null pointer, that means this option should just |
| set a flag in the program. The flag is a variable of type @code{int} |
| that you define. Put the address of the flag in the @code{flag} field. |
| Put in the @code{val} field the value you would like this option to |
| store in the flag. In this case, @code{getopt_long} returns @code{0}. |
| |
| For any long option, @code{getopt_long} tells you the index in the array |
| @var{longopts} of the options definition, by storing it into |
| @code{*@var{indexptr}}. You can get the name of the option with |
| @code{@var{longopts}[*@var{indexptr}].name}. So you can distinguish among |
| long options either by the values in their @code{val} fields or by their |
| indices. You can also distinguish in this way among long options that |
| set flags. |
| |
| When a long option has an argument, @code{getopt_long} puts the argument |
| value in the variable @code{optarg} before returning. When the option |
| has no argument, the value in @code{optarg} is a null pointer. This is |
| how you can tell whether an optional argument was supplied. |
| |
| When @code{getopt_long} has no more options to handle, it returns |
| @code{-1}, and leaves in the variable @code{optind} the index in |
| @var{argv} of the next remaining argument. |
| @end deftypefun |
| |
| Since long option names were used before the @code{getopt_long} |
| options was invented there are program interfaces which require programs |
| to recognize options like @w{@samp{-option value}} instead of |
| @w{@samp{--option value}}. To enable these programs to use the GNU |
| getopt functionality there is one more function available. |
| |
| @comment getopt.h |
| @comment GNU |
| @deftypefun int getopt_long_only (int @var{argc}, char *const *@var{argv}, const char *@var{shortopts}, const struct option *@var{longopts}, int *@var{indexptr}) |
| @safety{@prelim{}@mtunsafe{@mtasurace{:getopt} @mtsenv{}}@asunsafe{@ascuheap{} @ascuintl{} @asulock{} @asucorrupt{}}@acunsafe{@acsmem{} @aculock{} @acucorrupt{}}} |
| @c Same issues as getopt. |
| |
| The @code{getopt_long_only} function is equivalent to the |
| @code{getopt_long} function but it allows to specify the user of the |
| application to pass long options with only @samp{-} instead of |
| @samp{--}. The @samp{--} prefix is still recognized but instead of |
| looking through the short options if a @samp{-} is seen it is first |
| tried whether this parameter names a long option. If not, it is parsed |
| as a short option. |
| |
| Assuming @code{getopt_long_only} is used starting an application with |
| |
| @smallexample |
| app -foo |
| @end smallexample |
| |
| @noindent |
| the @code{getopt_long_only} will first look for a long option named |
| @samp{foo}. If this is not found, the short options @samp{f}, @samp{o}, |
| and again @samp{o} are recognized. |
| @end deftypefun |
| |
| @node Getopt Long Option Example |
| @subsection Example of Parsing Long Options with @code{getopt_long} |
| |
| @smallexample |
| @include longopt.c.texi |
| @end smallexample |