command line options

[Mike Ditto]

Posting-Front-End: GNU Emacs 18.41.10 of Fri Oct  2 1987 on kenobi (usg-unix-v)


In article <48963 at sun.uucp> guy at gorodish.Sun.COM (Guy Harris) writes:

> > That's because the shell is expanding -? to "-w -x". If there is no
> > match, the shell leaves the -? alone.
>
> I think he already knew that - that was his whole point!  He gave a
> real, not a hypothetical, case where the shell *will* expand "-?"
> to something, rather than leaving it alone, and therefore where "-?"
> won't do what it has, on occasion, been claimed to do.
>
> "-?" is *NOT* guaranteed to give you a usage message, with *ANY*
> shell, unless you put it in quotes.

I think everybody already knew that - "-?" is *NOT* guaranteed to do
*ANYTHING* in particular unless you put it in quotes.  That's why it
makes a good choice for a help option: it's too awkward ever to be
used for a normal option, so you might as well reserve it for those
times when you want a usage and you have no idea what options are
valid.  Of course, people who often find themselves needing help won't
like the awkwardness of typing the quotes, but I think it's quite
reasonable.

-\? also works (less typing).

					-=] Ford [=-

"Once there were parking lots,		(In Real Life:  Mike Ditto)
now it's a peaceful oasis.		ford%kenobi at crash.CTS.COM
This was a Pizza Hut,			...!sdcsvax!crash!kenobi!ford
now it's all covered with daisies." -- Talking Heads