Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!steinmetz!ge-dab!codas!ateng!chip
From: chip@ateng.UUCP (Chip Salzenberg)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d
Subject: Re: How are YOU using perl?
Message-ID: <235@ateng.UUCP>
Date: 13 Apr 88 17:03:55 GMT
References: <720@hadron.UUCP>
Reply-To: chip@ateng.UUCP (Chip Salzenberg)
Organization: A T Engineering, Tampa, FL
Lines: 39
Keywords: perl

In article <720@hadron.UUCP> klr@hadron.UUCP (Kurt L. Reisler) writes:
>Which would be an appropriate news group for the discussion of uses of
>Larry Wall's outstanding "perl" program?  I would be intersted in
>learning what uses you are putting it to, and what kind of tricks have
>been developed.

Here is my favorite argument parsing loop:

	$debug = 0;
	$verbose = 1;

	while ($#ARGV >= 0) {
		$_ = $ARGV[0];
		last unless /^-/;       # Not an option
		shift;
		last if ($_ eq "--");   # End of options

		s/-//g;
		if (s/D//g)     { $debug = 1;   }
		if (s/s//g)     { $verbose = 0; }
		if (s/v//g)     { $verbose = 2; }
		# Other options go here

		# By now we should have used all the chars in this argument.
		if ($_) {
			print stderr "illegal option",
				     (length($_) > 1 ? "s" : ""),
				     ": -$_\n";
			do usage();
			exit 1;
		}
	}

I like it because it doesn't let illegal options pass, and it allows
multiple switches in an argument.
--
Chip Salzenberg                 "chip@ateng.UU.NET" or "codas!ateng!chip"
A T Engineering                 My employer's opinions are a trade secret.
       "Anything that works is better than anything that doesn't."