argumentParser.h File Reference

Simple command-line argument parsing module. More...

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Functions
int	initArgumentParser (int argc, char *argv[])
	Initializes the simple command-line parsing module. More...
char *	getCommand (void)
	Retrieves the program name. More...
char *	getValueForOption (char *keyName)
	Gets the corresponding value for a given option key ("-key=value") More...
int	getNumberOfArguments (void)
char *	getArgument (int index)
	Retrieves an argument. More...

Detailed Description

Simple command-line argument parsing module.

This module is useful for parsing the argv array passed to a program via the command line, which can consist of the following argument classes:

• The program name (argv[0]), which can be retrieved by calling getCommand().
• Key-value pairs (called "option") in the form "-key=value". These can be queried using getValueForOption(). These options have to be specified after all "arguments".
• Everything which has neither of the above formats is called an "argument". The user can retrieve the number of arguments via getNumberOfArguments() and iterate over them by calling getArgument().

Command-line argument format supported by this modul: <command> [arguments..] [options..] After the command an arbitray number of arguments followed by an arbitrary number of options can be specified. Both, arguments and options, are optional.

Function Documentation

getArgument()

char* getArgument

(

int

index

)

Retrieves an argument.

Parameters

index

Zero-based index of the argument.

Returns

The argument with the given index, or NULL if index is greater than or equal to the number of arguments.

getCommand()

char* getCommand

(

void

)

Retrieves the program name.

Returns

The value of argv[0].

getNumberOfArguments()

int getNumberOfArguments

(

void

)

Retrieves the number of arguments.

getValueForOption()

char* getValueForOption

(

char *

keyName

)

Gets the corresponding value for a given option key ("-key=value")

If the same key appears several times in the command line, the value of its first occurrence is returned.

Parameters

key	The key without leading dash.

Returns

The value associated with the given key, or NULL if no such pair exists.

initArgumentParser()

int initArgumentParser	(	int	argc,
		char *	argv[]
	)

Initializes the simple command-line parsing module.

This function must be invoked before any of the other functions.

Parameters

argc	Number of command-line arguments.
argv	Array of command-line arguments. The contents of this array are not modified in any manner.

Returns

0 on success. If argc or argv is invalid, -1 is returned and errno is set to EINVAL.