Class: GetoptLong

Inherits:
Object
  • Object
show all
Defined in:
lib/getoptlong.rb

Overview

Class GetoptLong provides parsing both for options and for regular arguments.

Using GetoptLong, you can define options for your program. The program can then capture and respond to whatever options are included in the command that executes the program.

A simple example: file simple.rb:

:include: ../sample/getoptlong/simple.rb

If you are somewhat familiar with options, you may want to skip to this full example.

Options

A GetoptLong option has:

  • A string option name.

  • Zero or more string aliases for the name.

  • An option type.

Options may be defined by calling singleton method GetoptLong.new, which returns a new GetoptLong object. Options may then be processed by calling other methods such as GetoptLong#each.

Option Name and Aliases

In the array that defines an option, the first element is the string option name. Often the name takes the ‘long’ form, beginning with two hyphens.

The option name may have any number of aliases, which are defined by additional string elements.

The name and each alias must be of one of two forms:

  • Two hyphens, followed by one or more letters.

  • One hyphen, followed by a single letter.

File aliases.rb:

:include: ../sample/getoptlong/aliases.rb

An option may be cited by its name, or by any of its aliases; the parsed option always reports the name, not an alias:

$ ruby aliases.rb -a -p --xxx --aaa -x

Output:

["--xxx", ""]
["--xxx", ""]
["--xxx", ""]
["--xxx", ""]
["--xxx", ""]

An option may also be cited by an abbreviation of its name or any alias, as long as that abbreviation is unique among the options.

File abbrev.rb:

:include: ../sample/getoptlong/abbrev.rb

Command line:

$ ruby abbrev.rb --xxx --xx --xyz --xy

Output:

["--xxx", ""]
["--xxx", ""]
["--xyz", ""]
["--xyz", ""]

This command line raises GetoptLong::AmbiguousOption:

$ ruby abbrev.rb --x

Repetition

An option may be cited more than once:

$ ruby abbrev.rb --xxx --xyz --xxx --xyz

Output:

["--xxx", ""]
["--xyz", ""]
["--xxx", ""]
["--xyz", ""]

Treating Remaining Options as Arguments

A option-like token that appears anywhere after the token -- is treated as an ordinary argument, and is not processed as an option:

$ ruby abbrev.rb --xxx --xyz -- --xxx --xyz

Output:

["--xxx", ""]
["--xyz", ""]

Option Types

Each option definition includes an option type, which controls whether the option takes an argument.

File types.rb:

:include: ../sample/getoptlong/types.rb

Note that an option type has to do with the option argument (whether it is required, optional, or forbidden), not with whether the option itself is required.

Option with Required Argument

An option of type GetoptLong::REQUIRED_ARGUMENT must be followed by an argument, which is associated with that option:

$ ruby types.rb --xxx foo

Output:

["--xxx", "foo"]

If the option is not last, its argument is whatever follows it (even if the argument looks like another option):

$ ruby types.rb --xxx --yyy

Output:

["--xxx", "--yyy"]

If the option is last, an exception is raised:

$ ruby types.rb
# Raises GetoptLong::MissingArgument

Option with Optional Argument

An option of type GetoptLong::OPTIONAL_ARGUMENT may be followed by an argument, which if given is associated with that option.

If the option is last, it does not have an argument:

$ ruby types.rb --yyy

Output:

["--yyy", ""]

If the option is followed by another option, it does not have an argument:

$ ruby types.rb --yyy --zzz

Output:

["--yyy", ""]
["--zzz", ""]

Otherwise the option is followed by its argument, which is associated with that option:

$ ruby types.rb --yyy foo

Output:

["--yyy", "foo"]

Option with No Argument

An option of type GetoptLong::NO_ARGUMENT takes no argument:

ruby types.rb --zzz foo

Output:

["--zzz", ""]

ARGV

You can process options either with method #each and a block, or with method #get.

During processing, each found option is removed, along with its argument if there is one. After processing, each remaining element was neither an option nor the argument for an option.

File argv.rb:

:include: ../sample/getoptlong/argv.rb

Command line:

$ ruby argv.rb --xxx Foo --yyy Bar Baz --zzz Bat Bam

Output:

Original ARGV: ["--xxx", "Foo", "--yyy", "Bar", "Baz", "--zzz", "Bat", "Bam"]
["--xxx", "Foo"]
["--yyy", "Bar"]
["--zzz", ""]
Remaining ARGV: ["Baz", "Bat", "Bam"]

Ordering

There are three settings that control the way the options are interpreted:

  • PERMUTE.

  • REQUIRE_ORDER.

  • RETURN_IN_ORDER.

The initial setting for a new GetoptLong object is REQUIRE_ORDER if environment variable POSIXLY_CORRECT is defined, PERMUTE otherwise.

PERMUTE Ordering

In the PERMUTE ordering, options and other, non-option, arguments may appear in any order and any mixture.

File permute.rb:

:include: ../sample/getoptlong/permute.rb

Command line:

$ ruby permute.rb Foo --zzz Bar --xxx Baz --yyy Bat Bam --xxx Bag Bah

Output:

Original ARGV: ["Foo", "--zzz", "Bar", "--xxx", "Baz", "--yyy", "Bat", "Bam", "--xxx", "Bag", "Bah"]
["--zzz", ""]
["--xxx", "Baz"]
["--yyy", "Bat"]
["--xxx", "Bag"]
Remaining ARGV: ["Foo", "Bar", "Bam", "Bah"]

REQUIRE_ORDER Ordering

In the REQUIRE_ORDER ordering, all options precede all non-options; that is, each word after the first non-option word is treated as a non-option word (even if it begins with a hyphen).

File require_order.rb:

:include: ../sample/getoptlong/require_order.rb

Command line:

$ ruby require_order.rb --xxx Foo Bar --xxx Baz --yyy Bat -zzz

Output:

Original ARGV: ["--xxx", "Foo", "Bar", "--xxx", "Baz", "--yyy", "Bat", "-zzz"]
["--xxx", "Foo"]
Remaining ARGV: ["Bar", "--xxx", "Baz", "--yyy", "Bat", "-zzz"]

RETURN_IN_ORDER Ordering

In the RETURN_IN_ORDER ordering, every word is treated as an option. A word that begins with a hyphen (or two) is treated in the usual way; a word word that does not so begin is treated as an option whose name is an empty string, and whose value is word.

File return_in_order.rb:

:include: ../sample/getoptlong/return_in_order.rb

Command line:

$ ruby return_in_order.rb Foo --xxx Bar Baz --zzz Bat Bam

Output:

Original ARGV: ["Foo", "--xxx", "Bar", "Baz", "--zzz", "Bat", "Bam"]
["", "Foo"]
["--xxx", "Bar"]
["", "Baz"]
["--zzz", ""]
["", "Bat"]
["", "Bam"]
Remaining ARGV: []

Full Example

File fibonacci.rb:

:include: ../sample/getoptlong/fibonacci.rb

Command line:

$ ruby fibonacci.rb

Output:

Option --number is required.
Usage:

  -n n, --number n:
    Compute Fibonacci number for n.
  -v [boolean], --verbose [boolean]:
    Show intermediate results; default is 'false'.
  -h, --help:
    Show this help.

Command line:

$ ruby fibonacci.rb --number

Raises GetoptLong::MissingArgument:

fibonacci.rb: option `--number' requires an argument

Command line:

$ ruby fibonacci.rb --number 6

Output:

8

Command line:

$ ruby fibonacci.rb --number 6 --verbose

Output:

1
2
3
5
8

Command line:

$ ruby fibonacci.rb --number 6 --verbose yes

Output:

--verbose argument must be true or false
Usage:

  -n n, --number n:
    Compute Fibonacci number for n.
  -v [boolean], --verbose [boolean]:
    Show intermediate results; default is 'false'.
  -h, --help:
    Show this help.

Defined Under Namespace

Classes: AmbiguousOption, Error, InvalidOption, MissingArgument, NeedlessArgument

Constant Summary collapse

VERSION =

Version.

"0.2.1"
ORDERINGS =

Orderings.

[REQUIRE_ORDER = 0, PERMUTE = 1, RETURN_IN_ORDER = 2]
ARGUMENT_FLAGS =

Argument flags.

[NO_ARGUMENT = 0, REQUIRED_ARGUMENT = 1,
OPTIONAL_ARGUMENT = 2]

Instance Attribute Summary collapse

Instance Method Summary collapse

Constructor Details

#initialize(*arguments) ⇒ GetoptLong

Returns a new GetoptLong object based on the given arguments. See Options.

Example:

:include: ../sample/getoptlong/simple.rb

Raises an exception if:

  • Any of arguments is not an array.

  • Any option name or alias is not a string.

  • Any option type is invalid.



412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
 
# File 'lib/getoptlong.rb', line 412

def initialize(*arguments)
  #
  # Current ordering.
  #
  if ENV.include?('POSIXLY_CORRECT')
    @ordering = REQUIRE_ORDER
  else
    @ordering = PERMUTE
  end

  #
  # Hash table of option names.
  # Keys of the table are option names, and their values are canonical
  # names of the options.
  #
  @canonical_names = Hash.new

  #
  # Hash table of argument flags.
  # Keys of the table are option names, and their values are argument
  # flags of the options.
  #
  @argument_flags = Hash.new

  #
  # Whether error messages are output to $stderr.
  #
  @quiet = false

  #
  # Status code.
  #
  @status = STATUS_YET

  #
  # Error code.
  #
  @error = nil

  #
  # Error message.
  #
  @error_message = nil

  #
  # Rest of catenated short options.
  #
  @rest_singles = ''

  #
  # List of non-option-arguments.
  # Append them to ARGV when option processing is terminated.
  #
  @non_option_arguments = Array.new

  if 0 < arguments.length
    set_options(*arguments)
  end
end

Instance Attribute Details

#error ⇒ Object (readonly) Also known as: error?

Returns whether option processing has failed.



656
657
658
 
# File 'lib/getoptlong.rb', line 656

def error
  @error
end

#ordering ⇒ Object

Returns the ordering setting.



515
516
517
 
# File 'lib/getoptlong.rb', line 515

def ordering
  @ordering
end

#quiet ⇒ Object Also known as: quiet?

Returns the quiet mode setting.



604
605
606
 
# File 'lib/getoptlong.rb', line 604

def quiet
  @quiet
end

Instance Method Details

#each ⇒ Object Also known as: each_option

Calls the given block with each option; each option is a 2-element array containing:

  • The option name (the name itself, not an alias).

  • The option value.

Example:

:include: ../sample/getoptlong/each.rb

Command line:

ruby each.rb -xxx Foo -x Bar --yyy Baz -y Bat --zzz

Output:

Original ARGV: ["-xxx", "Foo", "-x", "Bar", "--yyy", "Baz", "-y", "Bat", "--zzz"]
["--xxx", "xx"]
["--xxx", "Bar"]
["--yyy", "Baz"]
["--yyy", "Bat"]
["--zzz", ""]
Remaining ARGV: ["Foo"]



859
860
861
862
863
864
865
 
# File 'lib/getoptlong.rb', line 859

def each
  loop do
    option_name, option_argument = get_option
    break if option_name == nil
    yield option_name, option_argument
  end
end

#error_message ⇒ Object

Return the appropriate error message in POSIX-defined format. If no error has occurred, returns nil.



662
663
664
 
# File 'lib/getoptlong.rb', line 662

def error_message
  return @error_message
end

#get ⇒ Object Also known as: get_option

Returns the next option as a 2-element array containing:

  • The option name (the name itself, not an alias).

  • The option value.

Returns nil if there are no more options.



674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
 
# File 'lib/getoptlong.rb', line 674

def get
  option_name, option_argument = nil, ''

  #
  # Check status.
  #
  return nil if @error != nil
  case @status
  when STATUS_YET
    @status = STATUS_STARTED
  when STATUS_TERMINATED
    return nil
  end

  #
  # Get next option argument.
  #
  if 0 < @rest_singles.length
    argument = '-' + @rest_singles
  elsif (ARGV.length == 0)
    terminate
    return nil
  elsif @ordering == PERMUTE
    while 0 < ARGV.length && ARGV[0] !~ /\A-./
      @non_option_arguments.push(ARGV.shift)
    end
    if ARGV.length == 0
      terminate
      return nil
    end
    argument = ARGV.shift
  elsif @ordering == REQUIRE_ORDER
    if (ARGV[0] !~ /\A-./)
      terminate
      return nil
    end
    argument = ARGV.shift
  else
    argument = ARGV.shift
  end

  #
  # Check the special argument `--'.
  # `--' indicates the end of the option list.
  #
  if argument == '--' && @rest_singles.length == 0
    terminate
    return nil
  end

  #
  # Check for long and short options.
  #
  if argument =~ /\A(--[^=]+)/ && @rest_singles.length == 0
    #
    # This is a long style option, which start with `--'.
    #
    pattern = $1
    if @canonical_names.include?(pattern)
      option_name = pattern
    else
      #
      # The option `option_name' is not registered in `@canonical_names'.
      # It may be an abbreviated.
      #
      matches = []
      @canonical_names.each_key do |key|
        if key.index(pattern) == 0
          option_name = key
          matches << key
        end
      end
      if 2 <= matches.length
        set_error(AmbiguousOption, "option `#{argument}' is ambiguous between #{matches.join(', ')}")
      elsif matches.length == 0
        set_error(InvalidOption, "unrecognized option `#{argument}'")
      end
    end

    #
    # Check an argument to the option.
    #
    if @argument_flags[option_name] == REQUIRED_ARGUMENT
      if argument =~ /=(.*)/m
        option_argument = $1
      elsif 0 < ARGV.length
        option_argument = ARGV.shift
      else
        set_error(MissingArgument,
                  "option `#{argument}' requires an argument")
      end
    elsif @argument_flags[option_name] == OPTIONAL_ARGUMENT
      if argument =~ /=(.*)/m
        option_argument = $1
      elsif 0 < ARGV.length && ARGV[0] !~ /\A-./
        option_argument = ARGV.shift
      else
        option_argument = ''
      end
    elsif argument =~ /=(.*)/m
      set_error(NeedlessArgument,
                "option `#{option_name}' doesn't allow an argument")
    end

  elsif argument =~ /\A(-(.))(.*)/m
    #
    # This is a short style option, which start with `-' (not `--').
    # Short options may be catenated (e.g. `-l -g' is equivalent to
    # `-lg').
    #
    option_name, ch, @rest_singles = $1, $2, $3

    if @canonical_names.include?(option_name)
      #
      # The option `option_name' is found in `@canonical_names'.
      # Check its argument.
      #
      if @argument_flags[option_name] == REQUIRED_ARGUMENT
        if 0 < @rest_singles.length
          option_argument = @rest_singles
          @rest_singles = ''
        elsif 0 < ARGV.length
          option_argument = ARGV.shift
        else
          # 1003.2 specifies the format of this message.
          set_error(MissingArgument, "option requires an argument -- #{ch}")
        end
      elsif @argument_flags[option_name] == OPTIONAL_ARGUMENT
        if 0 < @rest_singles.length
          option_argument = @rest_singles
          @rest_singles = ''
        elsif 0 < ARGV.length && ARGV[0] !~ /\A-./
          option_argument = ARGV.shift
        else
          option_argument = ''
        end
      end
    else
      #
      # This is an invalid option.
      # 1003.2 specifies the format of this message.
      #
      if ENV.include?('POSIXLY_CORRECT')
        set_error(InvalidOption, "invalid option -- #{ch}")
      else
        set_error(InvalidOption, "invalid option -- #{ch}")
      end
    end
  else
    #
    # This is a non-option argument.
    # Only RETURN_IN_ORDER fell into here.
    #
    return '', argument
  end

  return @canonical_names[option_name], option_argument
end

#set_options(*arguments) ⇒ Object

Replaces existing options with those given by arguments, which have the same form as the arguments to ::new; returns self.

Raises an exception if option processing has begun.



524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
 
# File 'lib/getoptlong.rb', line 524

def set_options(*arguments)
  #
  # The method is failed if option processing has already started.
  #
  if @status != STATUS_YET
    raise RuntimeError,
      "invoke set_options, but option processing has already started"
  end

  #
  # Clear tables of option names and argument flags.
  #
  @canonical_names.clear
  @argument_flags.clear

  arguments.each do |arg|
    if !arg.is_a?(Array)
     raise ArgumentError, "the option list contains non-Array argument"
    end

    #
    # Find an argument flag and it set to `argument_flag'.
    #
    argument_flag = nil
    arg.each do |i|
      if ARGUMENT_FLAGS.include?(i)
        if argument_flag != nil
          raise ArgumentError, "too many argument-flags"
        end
        argument_flag = i
      end
    end

    raise ArgumentError, "no argument-flag" if argument_flag == nil

    canonical_name = nil
    arg.each do |i|
      #
      # Check an option name.
      #
      next if i == argument_flag
      begin
        if !i.is_a?(String) || i !~ /\A-([^-]|-.+)\z/
          raise ArgumentError, "an invalid option `#{i}'"
        end
        if (@canonical_names.include?(i))
          raise ArgumentError, "option redefined `#{i}'"
        end
      rescue
        @canonical_names.clear
        @argument_flags.clear
        raise
      end

      #
      # Register the option (`i') to the `@canonical_names' and
      # `@canonical_names' Hashes.
      #
      if canonical_name == nil
        canonical_name = i
      end
      @canonical_names[i] = canonical_name
      @argument_flags[i] = argument_flag
    end
    raise ArgumentError, "no option name" if canonical_name == nil
  end
  return self
end

#terminate ⇒ Object

Terminate option processing; returns nil if processing has already terminated; otherwise returns self.

Raises:

  • (RuntimeError) 


612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
 
# File 'lib/getoptlong.rb', line 612

def terminate
  return nil if @status == STATUS_TERMINATED
  raise RuntimeError, "an error has occurred" if @error != nil

  @status = STATUS_TERMINATED
  @non_option_arguments.reverse_each do |argument|
    ARGV.unshift(argument)
  end

  @canonical_names = nil
  @argument_flags = nil
  @rest_singles = nil
  @non_option_arguments = nil

  return self
end

#terminated? ⇒ Boolean

Returns true if option processing has terminated, false otherwise.

Returns:

  • (Boolean) 


632
633
634
 
# File 'lib/getoptlong.rb', line 632

def terminated?
  return @status == STATUS_TERMINATED
end