projects / thirdparty / util-linux.git / blame
| Commit | Line | Data |
|---|---|---|
| 2b6fc908 KZ |
1 | This package contains a reimplementation of getopt(1). |
| 2 | ||
| 3 | PREFACE | |
| 4 | ||
| 5 | Getopt(1) is a program to help shell scripts parse command-line parameters. | |
| 6 | It is for example included in the util-linux distribution. But, there are | |
| 7 | some problems with that getopt(1) implementation, as listed in the | |
| 8 | 'BUGS' section of its man-page: | |
| 9 | ||
| 10 | >BUGS | |
| 11 | > Whatever getopt(3) has. | |
| 12 | > | |
| 13 | > Arguments containing white space or imbedded shell metacharacters gener- | |
| 14 | > ally will not survive intact; this looks easy to fix but isn't. | |
| 15 | > | |
| 16 | > The error message for an invalid option is identified as coming from | |
| 17 | > getopt rather than from the shell procedure containing the invocation of | |
| 18 | > getopt; this again is hard to fix. | |
| 19 | > | |
| 20 | > The precise best way to use the set command to set the arguments without | |
| 21 | > disrupting the value(s) of shell options varies from one shell version to | |
| 22 | > another. | |
| 23 | ||
| 24 | This implementation of getopt(1) is written to solve some of these problems, | |
| 25 | while still staying (for all practical purposes) completely compatible with | |
| 26 | other getopt(1) implementations. | |
| 27 | ||
| 28 | ||
| 29 | INSTALLATION | |
| 30 | ||
| 31 | Installation should be very easy. Just type 'make' to compile the sources. | |
| 32 | It should compile cleanly, without any warnings, but even if it does not | |
| 33 | you probably don't have to worry. You must use GNU Make and gcc, or you | |
| 34 | will have to edit the Makefile. | |
| 35 | ||
| 36 | Type 'make install' to install the binary and the manual page. It installs | |
| 37 | by default in /usr/local/bin and /usr/local/man/man1, to install in /usr/bin | |
| 38 | and /usr/man/man1 try 'make install prefix=/usr'. | |
| 39 | ||
| 40 | The example files can be installed in /usr/local/lib/getopt by calling | |
| 41 | 'make install_doc'. | |
| 42 | ||
| 43 | If you do not trust the getopt(3) in your libc, or if you do not use a libc | |
| 44 | with the GNU getopt(3) routines, you can use the gnu sources as provided | |
| 45 | in the gnu directory. Try 'make LIBCGETOPT=0'. Ignore any compile warnings. | |
| 46 | ||
| 47 | You can check whether the new implementation of getopt is found first | |
| 48 | in your path by calling 'bash test.bash'. | |
| 49 | ||
| 50 | ||
| 51 | HIGHLIGHTS | |
| 52 | ||
| 53 | It can do anything that the GNU getopt(3) routines can do. | |
| 54 | ||
| 55 | It can cope with spaces and shell metacharacters within arguments. | |
| 56 | ||
| 57 | It can parse long parameters. | |
| 58 | ||
| 59 | It can shuffle parameters, so you can mix options and other parameters on | |
| 60 | the command-line. | |
| 61 | ||
| 62 | It can be easily identified as an enhanced getopt(1) from within shell scripts. | |
| 63 | ||
| 64 | It can report parse errors as coming from the shell script. | |
| 65 | ||
| 66 | It is fully compatible with other getopt(1) implementations. | |
| 67 | ||
| 68 | COPYING | |
| 69 | ||
| 70 | This program comes under the GNU general public licence version 2. See the | |
| 71 | file COPYING included in this package. Note that though you may freely | |
| 72 | copy it, it is copyright (c) 1997 by Frodo Looijaard <frodol@dds.nl>. | |
| 73 | Files in the gnu directory are from glibc-2.0.4: copyright (C) 1987, 88, | |
| 74 | 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97 Free Software Foundation, Inc. | |
| 75 | ||
| 76 | ||
| 77 | DOWNLOADING | |
| 78 | ||
| 79 | You can find the latest version of this program at | |
| 80 | <http://huizen.dds.nl/~frodol>. |