GETOPT(C) XENIX System V GETOPT(C)
Name
getopt - Parses command options.
Syntax
set -- `getopt optstring $*`
Description
getopt is used to check and break up options in command
lines for parsing by shell procedures. Optstring is a
string of recognized option letters (see getopt(S)). If a
letter is followed by a colon, the option is expected to
have an argument which may or may not be separated from it
by whitespace. The special option -- is used to delimit the
end of the options. getopt will place -- in the arguments
at the end of the options, or recognize it if used
explicitly. The shell arguments ($1$2...) are reset so that
each option is preceded by a dash (-) and in its own shell
argument; each option argument is also in its own shell
argument.
Example
The following code fragment shows how one can process the
arguments for a command that can take the options a and b,
and the option o, which requires an argument:
set -- `getopt abo: $*`
if [ $? != 0 ]
then
echo $USAGE
exit 2
fi
for i in $*
do
case $i in
-a | -b) FLAG=$i; shift;;
-o) OARG=$2; shift; shift;;
--) shift; break;;
esac
done
This code will accept any of the following as equivalent:
cmd -aoarg file file
cmd -a -o arg file file
cmd -oarg -a file file
cmd -a -oarg -- file file
See Also
sh(C), getopt(S)
Diagnostics
getopt prints an error message on the standard error when it
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GETOPT(C) XENIX System V GETOPT(C)
encounters an option letter not included in optstring.
Notes
The ``Syntax'' given for this utility assumes the user has
an sh(C) shell.
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