Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cca!mirror!datacube!ftw
From: ftw@datacube.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Command interfaces
Message-ID: <106600027@datacube>
Date: 29 Dec 87 22:37:00 GMT
References: <432@cresswell.quintus.UUCP>
Lines: 58
Nf-ID: #R:cresswell.quintus.UUCP:432:datacube:106600027:000:2334
Nf-From: datacube.UUCP!ftw    Dec 29 17:37:00 1987


robf2@pyuxf.UUCP writes:
> In article <106600024@datacube>, ftw@datacube.UUCP writes:
> + 
> + aglew@ccvaxa.UUCP writers:
> + 
> + 
> + > Well, in the days before I came to UNIX (using Whitesmith's on a PDP with
                                                     ^^^^^^^^^^^^
> + > RT-11, if I remember correctly), I used to do:
> + 
> + <code example deleted>
> + 
> + Gee, why didn't you use getflags() ?
> + 
> Well, I guess I'm stupid because never heard of getflags(). Nor has my
> Unix (V.2) manual. So, gee, why don't you enlighten us all ?

Whitesmiths wrote a function called getflags() which they include in the
libraries that they ship along with their compilers.  It's much like a
very specialized version of sscanf():  It takes the addresses of argc
and argv, a format string, and the addresses of variables to fill.  The
format string can specify booleans, numeric fields, single characters,
and strings.  getflags() will rattle through argv collecting the flags
and filling the variables (flags may be specified in any order when a
program is invoked; they need not be in the order given in the format
string), and update argc and argv accoring to the number of items matched.
It also does things like automatic conversion of hex and octal numbers.
It is not super picky about whitespace between a flag and its value.

getflags() has advantages over getopt() in my opinion:  You don't have to
write a loop around it, you don't have to declare a couple of externs,
and it provides a more uniform way of reporting mal-formed command line
args (it issues it's own message regarding usage in this case).

Whitesmiths is pushing (I don't know exctly how hard) to have
getflags() become more of a standard.  They may also release a copy
of that function into the Public Domain if they can get it to become
a standard.  It would be nice to see a getflags() or something similar
to it become standard.  I think that getopt() was a good first step,
but it's kind of clunky to use.

> Rob Fair

Feel more enlightened, Rob? ;-) ;-)

> ihnp4!pyuxww!pyuxf!robf2



				Farrell T. Woods 

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