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From: kai@uicsrd.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: bsd unix vs dec's vms
Message-ID: <45000007@uicsrd>
Date: Thu, 4-Jun-87 21:35:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: uicsrd.45000007
Posted: Thu Jun  4 21:35:00 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 7-Jun-87 19:36:10 EDT
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Nf-From: uicsrd.CSRD.UIUC.EDU!kai    Jun  4 20:35:00 1987


You forgot to mention that some programs want options separated,
with values immediately following (eg.  lpr -Pprinter -J "job"
file) and some want the options all together and the values all
following (eg.  dump 0unsdbf 2200 6250 20 /dev/rxt00h).

The problems you describe and those above have to be expected
when utilities are written (and converted) by many different
people using many different version of UNIX, with no set
guidelines to follow (unlike DEC's VAX/VMS - now THOSE are
strict guidelines).

Hence the popularity of the public domain getopt routines
floating around in comp.sources.{misc,unix} . Getopt allows you
to specify all of the above style options. Sure works nice, and
makes programming a little easier.

Of course this doesn't help with those programs already written.
You might spend years converting them, and then move to another
site, and have to do it all over again.