| GETFLAGS(8) | GETFLAGS(8)

NAME

| getflags, usage – command-line parsing for shell scripts

SYNOPSIS

`getflags $*

` `usage [ progname ]
`

DESCRIPTION

Getflags parses the options in its command-line arguments according to the environment variable `$flagfmt`. This variable should be a list of comma-separated options. Each option can be a single letter, indicating that it does not take arguments, or a letter followed by the space-separated names of its arguments. Getflags prints an rc(1) script on standard output which initializes the environment variable `$flag` x for every option mentioned in `$flagfmt`. If the option is not present on the command-line, the script sets that option’s flag variable to an empty list. Otherwise, the script sets that option’s flag variable with a list containing the option’s arguments or, if the option takes no arguments, with the string `1`. The script also sets the variable `$*` to the list of arguments following the options. The final line in the script sets the `$status` variable, to the empty string on success and to the string `usage` when there is an error parsing the command line.

Usage prints a usage message to standard error. It creates the message using `$flagfmt`, as described above, `$args`, which should contain the string to be printed explaining non-option arguments, and `$0`, the program name (see rc(1)). If run under sh(1), which does not set `$0`, the program name must be given explicitly on the command line.

EXAMPLE

Parse the arguments for leak(1):

`flagfmt='b,s,f binary,r res,x width'
args='name | pid list'
if(! ifs=() eval `{getflags $*} || ~ $#* 0){

| usage exit usage

}
`

SOURCE

| `/usr/local/plan9/src/cmd/getflags.c /usr/local/plan9/src/cmd/usage.c`

SEE ALSO

| arg(3)