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GNU Gengetopt 2.7.1

July 20th, 2002

This program generates a C function that uses getopt_long function to parse the command line options, to validate them and fills a struct.

Thus your program can now handle options such as: 

myprog --input foo.c -o foo.o --no-tabs -i 100 *.class
And both long options (those that start with --) and short options (start with - and consist of only one character) can be handled. For standards about short and long options you may want to take a look at the GNU Coding Standards.

gengetopt is free software. Please see the file LICENSE and COPYING for details.
Notice that: Use of gengetopt does not impose any particular license on the generated code: the code generated is not under any license.

For documentation, please read this file.

gengetopt is perfect if you are too lazy (like me) to write all stuff required to call getopt_long, and when you have a
program and wish it took options.

Generated code works if you use GNU Autoconf or GNU Automake.

Gengetopt has originally been written by Roberto Arturo Tena Sanchez <arturo@directmail.org>, and currently maintained by Lorenzo Bettini <bettini@gnu.org>.

Gengetopt is a GNU program and its main home page is at GNU site:
http://www.gnu.org/software/gengetopt/gengetopt.html,

Download

You can download it from GNU's ftp site:
ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gengetopt/ or from one of its mirrors (see http://www.gnu.org/prep/ftp.html).

I do not distribute Windows binaries anymore; since, they can be easily built by using Cygnus C/C++ compiler, available at http://www.cygwin.com/. However, if you don't feel like downloading such compiler, you can request such binaries directly to me, by e-mail (bettini@gnu.org) and I can send them to you.

You may also want to check the md5sum of the archives, which are also digitally signed by me (Lorenzo Bettini) with GNU gpg (http://www.gnupg.org). My GPG public key can be found at my home page (see at the end of this doc).

You can also get the patches, if they are available for a particular release (see below for patching from a previous version).

Anonymous CVS Access

This project's CVS repository can be checked out through anonymous (pserver) CVS with the following instruction set. When prompted for a password for anoncvs, simply press the Enter key. 
cvs -d:pserver:anoncvs@subversions.gnu.org:/cvsroot/gengetopt login
cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anoncvs@subversions.gnu.org:/cvsroot/gengetopt co gengetopt
Further instructions can be found at the address: http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/gengetopt.

Changes in this release

  • see NEWS file for a summary of new features in this release and
  • see ChangeLog for the complete list of changes sources

Installation

See the file INSTALL for detailed building and installation instructions; anyway if you're used to compiling Linux software that comes with sources you may simply follow the usual procedure: 
cd <source code main directory>
./configure
make
make install
Note: unless you specify a different install directory by --prefix option of configure (e.g. ./configure --prefix=<your home>), you must be root to 'make install'.

You can also run some tests by issuing 'make check'.

Files will be installed in the following directories:

  • Executables          -> /prefix/bin
  • Docs                 -> /prefix/share/doc/gengetopt
  • Man pages            -> /prefix/man
  • Examples             -> /prefix/share/doc/gengetopt/examples
  • Util files           -> /prefix/share/gengetopt
Default value for prefix is /usr/local but you may change it with --prefix option to configure (see above).

What you need to build gengetopt

Actually you need nothing more than a Unix C/C++ compiler.

getopt_long function is usually in the standard C library, but there may be some C libraries which don't include it; in this case you have to link the program that uses the file generated by gengetopt with the files getopt.c and getopt1.c and include getopt.h in your project. You may also need to link alloca.c.We obviously provide these files in the utility files directory (/prefix/share/gengetopt). These files are part of the GNU C library. You may want to take a look at getopt man page. Read also no_getopt_long.txt. for instuctions on how to check if getopt_long and alloca are part of the library and how to deal with their lacking (using autoconf and automake).

gengetopt has been developed under Linux, using gcc, and bison (yacc) and flex (lex), and ported under Windows with Cygnus C/C++ compiler, available at http://www.cygnus.com/. I used the excellent GNU Autoconf and Automake. I also used Autotools (ftp://ftp.ugcs.caltech.edu/pub/elef/autotools) which creates a starting source tree (according to GNU standards) with autoconf, automake starting files, and getopt_long (for command line parsing). Moreover Gengen (http://www.lorenzobettini.it/software/gengen/) is used for automatically generating the code that generates the command line parser.

Actually, unless you want to develop gengetopt, you don't need all these tools to build gengetopt because I provide generated sources; you don't need neither bison (yacc) nor flex (lex), for the same reason. Actually programs that use lex generated files need to link with library libfl (or libl for lex); anyway configuration phase can discover if this library is missing and in that case it sets the program to link with a source file I provide. This hack works for flex: I don't know about lex generated scanners. But, again, this is a problem only if you develop gengetopt and you use lex.

Should you want to act on the generated code you may want to download Gengen that speeds up this part (http://www.lorenzobettini.it/software/gengen/).

Patching from a previous version

If you downloaded a patch, say gengetopt-1.3-1.3.1-patch.gz (i.e. the patch to go from version 1.3 to version 1.3.1), cd to the directory with sources from the previous version (gengetopt-1.3) and type: 
gunzip -cd ../gengetopt-1.3-1.3.1.patch.gz | patch -p1
and restart the compilation process (if you had already run configure a simple make will do).

Usage (a little tutorial)

The command line options, which have to be handled by gengetopt generated function, are specified in a file (typically with .ggo extension). This file consist in lines of sentences with the following formats: 
package <packname>
version <version>

option <long> <short> <desc> <argtype> {default="<default value>"} <required>
option <long> <short> <desc> flag      <onoff>
option <long> <short> <desc> no
Where:

packname

Double quoted string.
version
Double  quoted  string.
purpose
What the program does (even on more than one line), it will be printed with the help. Double  quoted  string.
long
The long option, a double quoted string with  upper and  lower  case  chars,  digits,  '-' and '.'.  No spaces allowed.  The name of the  variables  generated  to store arguments are long options converted to be legal C variable names.  This means, '.'  and '-'  are  both replaced by '_'. '_arg' is appended, or '_flag' for a flag.
short
The short option, a  single  upper  or  lower  case char, or a digit. If a '-' is specified, then no short option is considered for the long option (thus long options with no associated short options are allowed).
desc
Double  quoted  string  with  upper  and lower case chars, digits, '-', '.' and spaces. First character must not be a space.
argtype
string, int, short, long, float, double, longdouble or longlong.
default
an optional default value for the option.  The value must always be specified as a double quoted string.
required
yes or no.
onoff
on or off. This is the state of the flag when the program starts. If user specifies the option, the flag toggles.
The third type of option is used when the option does not take any argument. It must not be required.

Comments begins with '#' in any place of the line and ends in the end of line.

Here's an example of such a file (the file is called sample1.ggo)
 
# file sample1.ggo
option  "str-opt"     s "A string option"      string     no
option  "my-opt"      m "Another integer option"      int     no
option  "int-opt"     i "A int option"         int        yes
option  "flag-opt"    - "A flag option"        flag       off
option  "funct-opt"   F "A function option"    no 
option  "long-opt"    - "A long option"        long       no
option  "def-opt"     - "A string option with default" string default="Hello" no

The simplest way to use gengetopt is to pass this file as the standard input, i.e.: 

gengetopt < sample1.ggo
by default gengetopt generates cmdline.h and cmdline.c. Otherwise we can specify these names with a command line option: 
gengetopt < sample1.ggo --file-name=cmdline1 --unamed-opts
The option --unamed-opts allows the generated command line parser to accept also names, without an option (for instance you can pass a file name without an option in front of it, and also use wildcards, such as *.c, foo*.? and so on).

In cmdline1.h you'll find the generated C struct:
  
/* cmdline1.h */

/* File autogenerated by gengetopt version 2.6  */

#ifndef _cmdline1_h
#define _cmdline1_h

#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C" {
#endif /* __cplusplus */

/* Don't define PACKAGE and VERSION if we use automake.  */
#if defined PACKAGE
#  undef PACKAGE
#endif
#define PACKAGE "sample1"
#if defined VERSION
#  undef VERSION
#endif
#define VERSION "2.0"

struct gengetopt_args_info {
  char * str_opt_arg;   /* A string option.  */
  int my_opt_arg;       /* Another integer option.  */
  int int_opt_arg;      /* A int option.  */
  int flag_opt_flag;    /* A flag option (default=off).  */
  long long_opt_arg;    /* A long option.  */
  char * def_opt_arg;   /* A string option with default (default='Hello').  */

  int help_given ;      /* Whether help was given.  */
  int version_given ;   /* Whether version was given.  */
  int str_opt_given ;   /* Whether str-opt was given.  */
  int my_opt_given ;    /* Whether my-opt was given.  */
  int int_opt_given ;   /* Whether int-opt was given.  */
  int flag_opt_given ;  /* Whether flag-opt was given.  */
  int funct_opt_given ; /* Whether funct-opt was given.  */
  int long_opt_given ;  /* Whether long-opt was given.  */
  int def_opt_given ;   /* Whether def-opt was given.  */

  char **inputs ; /* unamed options */
  unsigned inputs_num ; /* unamed options number */
} ;

int cmdline_parser (int argc, char * const *argv, struct gengetopt_args_info *args_info);

void cmdline_parser_print_help(void);
void cmdline_parser_print_version(void);

#ifdef __cplusplus
}
#endif /* __cplusplus */
#endif /* _cmdline1_h */

Notice that by default the generated function is called cmdline_parser (see the command line options below, to override this name), and it takes the arguments that main receives and a pointer to such a struct, that it will be filled.
And here's how this function can be used inside the main program:
  
/* main1.cc */
/* we try to use gengetopt generated file in a C++ program */
/* we don't use autoconf and automake vars */

#include <iostream.h>
#include "stdlib.h"

#include "cmdline1.h"

int
main (int argc, char **argv)
{
  gengetopt_args_info args_info;

  cout << "This one is from a C++ program" << endl ;
  cout << "Try to launch me with some options" << endl ;
  cout << "(type sample1 --help for the complete list)" << endl ;
  cout << "For example: ./sample1 *.* --funct-opt" << endl ;

  /* let's call our cmdline parser */
  if (cmdline_parser (argc, argv, &args_info) != 0)
    exit(1) ;

  cout << "Here are the options you passed..." << endl;

  for ( unsigned i = 0 ; i < args_info.inputs_num ; ++i )
    cout << "file: " << args_info.inputs[i] << endl ;

  if ( args_info.funct_opt_given )
    cout << "You chose --funct-opt or -F." << endl ;

  if ( args_info.str_opt_given )
    cout << "You inserted " << args_info.str_opt_arg << " for " <<
      "--str-opt option." << endl ;

  if ( args_info.int_opt_given )
    cout << "This is the integer you input: " << 
      args_info.int_opt_arg << "." << endl;

  if (args_info.flag_opt_given)
    cout << "The flag option was given!" << endl;

  cout << "The flag is " << ( args_info.flag_opt_flag ? "on" : "off" ) <<
    "." << endl ;

  cout << args_info.def_opt_arg << "! ";

  cout << "Have a nice day! :-)" << endl ;

  return 0;
}

Now you can compile main1.cc and the cmdline1.c generated by gengetopt and link all together to obtain sample1 executable: 

gcc -c cmdline1.c
g++ -c main1.cc
g++ -o sample1 cmdline1.o main1.o
(Here we assume that getopt_long is included in the standard C library; see 'What you need to build gengetopt' section).

Now let's try some tests with this program: 

$ ./sample1 -s "hello" --int-opt 1234
This one is from a C++ program
Try to launch me with some options
(type sample1 --help for the complete list)
For example: ./sample1 *.* --funct-opt
Here are the options you passed...
You inserted hello for --str-opt option.
This is the integer you input: 1234.
The flag is off.
Have a nice day! :-)
You can also pass many file names to the command line (this also shows how flags work): 
$ ./sample1 *.h -i -100 -x
This one is from a C++ program
Try to launch me with some options
(type sample1 --help for the complete list)
For example: ./sample1 *.* --funct-opt
Here are the options you passed...
file: cmdline1.h
file: cmdline2.h
file: cmdline.h
file: getopt.h
This is the integer you input: -100.
The flag is on.
Have a nice day! :-)
And if we try to omit the --int-opt (or -i), which is required, we get an error: 
$ ./sample1
This one is from a C++ program
Try to launch me with some options
(type sample1 --help for the complete list)
For example: ./sample1 *.* --funct-opt
sample1: `--int-opt' (`-i') option required!
If you're curious you may want to take a look at the generated C file.

You may find other examples in /prefix/share/doc/gengetopt.

Warning for Windows users

If you run Windows, please remember that DOS shell does not translate wildcards, and thus the previous test which uses '*.h' will not work.

Options

This is the output of gengetopt --help: 
$ gengetopt --help
gengetopt 2.7.1

Purpose:
  This program generates a C function that uses getopt_long function
  to parse the command line options, validate them and fill a struct.

Usage: gengetopt [OPTIONS]...
   -h         --help              Print help and exit
   -V         --version           Print version and exit
   -iSTRING   --input=STRING      input file (default std input)
   -fSTRING   --func-name=STRING  name of generated function (default='cmdline_parser')
   -FSTRING   --file-name=STRING  name of generated file (default='cmdline')
   -l         --long-help         long usage line in help
   -u         --unamed-opts       accept filenames
              --no-handle-help    do not handle --help|-h automatically
              --no-handle-version do not handle --version|-V automatically
              --no-handle-error   do not exit on errors 

Maintained by Lorenzo Bettini <bettini@gnu.org>
Report bugs to <bug-gengetopt@gnu.org>
The options should be clear; in particular:
  • if no --func-name is given, cmdline_parser is taken by default;
  • with --long-help option, the "Usage" line reports all the options; this may be unpleasant if options are many;
  • with --unamed-opts we can accept also options without a name, which, in most case, means that we can pass many file names to the program (see the example above when we call sample1 *.h).
  • if --no-handle-help (--no-handle-version) is given the command line --help|-h (--version|-V) is not handled automatically, so the programmer will be able to print some other information; then the function for printing the standard help (version) response can be used; this function is called <parser-name>_print_help (<parser-name>_print_version), where <parser-name> is the name specified with ---func-name or the default cmdline_parser.
  • if --no-handle-error is given, an error in the parsing does not provoke the exit of the program; instead, since the parser function, in case of an error, returns non 0, the program can print a help message, as gengetopt itself does in case of an error (try it!).
You may have already guessed it: gengetopt uses gengetopt itself for command line options, and this is its specification file:
  
purpose "This program generates a C function that uses getopt_long function
to parse the command line options, validate them and fill a struct."
option  "input"         i "input file. default std input"  string     no
option  "func-name"     f "name of generated function"  string default="cmdline_parser" no
option  "file-name"     F "name of generated file"  string default="cmdline" no
option  "long-help"     l "long usage line in help" no
option  "unamed-opts"   u "accept filenames" no
option  "no-handle-help"   - "do not handle --help|-h automatically" no 
option  "no-handle-version"   - "do not handle --version|-V automatically" no
option  "no-handle-error" - "do not exit on errors" no

In particular the command line for gengetopt itself is generated with the following command: 

gengetopt --input=cmdline.ggo --no-handle-version --no-handle-help --no-handle-error
Indeed when --help|-h is passed on the command line, gengetopt will call cmdline_parser_print_help() and then the lines for reporting bugs. When --version|-V is passed, it will call cmdline_parser_print_version() and then prints a copyright.
If an error occurs it prints a message on the screen: 
$ ./gengetopt --zzzz
./gengetopt: unrecognized option `--zzzz'
Run gengetopt --help to see the list of options.

Credits

See THANKS file :-)

Feedback

Tell us if you like this software :-)

Actually we want to extend it, so if you have some ideas... The most import one will be to make gengetopt more customizable :-)

Please send all bug reports by electronic mail to:
bug-gengetopt@gnu.org

Mailing Lists

The following mailing lists are available: if you want to subscribe to a mailing list just go to the URL and follow the instructions.
 
Lorenzo Bettini
http://www.lorenzobettini.it
<bettini@gnu.org>.		 Roberto Arturo Tena Sanchez
http://arturo.directmail.org
<arturo@directmail.org>,

gengetopt is free software. See the file LICENSE and COPYING for copying conditions. Anyway we won't get offended if you send us a postcard :-)

C/C++ files are formatted with GNU Source-highlight (http://www.gnu.org/software/src-highlite/) by Lorenzo Bettini.

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Copyright (C) 2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111, USA

Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.

Updated:9 Jan 2001 mhw