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A Flexible UNIX Command Line Processing Facility - Args(3C++)

Options and option values

The command line arguments to a program consist of a series of ``options'', ``option values'', and ``non-option arguments''. An ``option'' is a letter preceded by a `-' character (and optionally by a `+'; see the section ```+' options'' below). An option may be followed by a character string, called its ``value''. Command line arguments that are neither options nor option values are ``(non-option) arguments'' (or ``arguments'', for short). For example, in

       cc -c -o foo -Dbar foo.c

-c, -o, and -D are options, foo and bar are option values, and foo.c is a (non-option) argument. Notice that white space between an option and its value is optional(!). A collection of options, none of which have values, may be specified in an option ``block''. For example,

       cc -cpO foo.c

is the same as

       cc -c -p -O foo.c

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