This is libc.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.0 from libc.texinfo.

INFO-DIR-SECTION GNU libraries
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* Libc: (libc).                 C library.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY

   This file documents the GNU C library.

   This is Edition 0.09 DRAFT, last updated 28 Aug 1999, of `The GNU C
Library Reference Manual', for Version 2.2 Beta.

   Copyright (C) 1993, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98, '99 Free Software
Foundation, Inc.

   Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
preserved on all copies.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also
that the section entitled "GNU Library General Public License" is
included exactly as in the original, and provided that the entire
resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission
notice identical to this one.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that the text of the translation of the section
entitled "GNU Library General Public License" must be approved for
accuracy by the Foundation.


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Parsers,  Next: Argp Flags,  Prev: Argp Global Variables,  Up: Argp

Specifying Argp Parsers
-----------------------

   The first argument to the `argp_parse' function is a pointer to a
`struct argp', which known as an "argp parser":

 - Data Type: struct argp
     This structure specifies how to parse a given set of options and
     arguments, perhaps in conjunction with other argp parsers.  It has
     the following fields:

    `const struct argp_option *options'
          A pointer to a vector of `argp_option' structures specifying
          which options this argp parser understands; it may be zero if
          there are no options at all.  *Note Argp Option Vectors::.

    `argp_parser_t parser'
          A pointer to a function that defines actions for this parser;
          it is called for each option parsed, and at other
          well-defined points in the parsing process.  A value of zero
          is the same as a pointer to a function that always returns
          `ARGP_ERR_UNKNOWN'.  *Note Argp Parser Functions::.

    `const char *args_doc'
          If non-zero, a string describing what non-option arguments
          are wanted by this parser; it is only used to print the
          `Usage:' message.  If it contains newlines, the strings
          separated by them are considered alternative usage patterns,
          and printed on separate lines (lines after the first are
          prefixed by ` or: ' instead of `Usage:').

    `const char *doc'
          If non-zero, a string containing extra text to be printed
          before and after the options in a long help message, with the
          two sections separated by a vertical tab (`'\v'', `'\013'')
          character.  By convention, the documentation before the
          options is just a short string saying what the program does,
          and that afterwards is longer, describing the behavior in
          more detail.

    `const struct argp_child *children'
          A pointer to a vector of `argp_children' structures specifying
          additional argp parsers that should be combined with this one.
          *Note Argp Children::.

    `char *(*help_filter)(int KEY, const char *TEXT, void *INPUT)'
          If non-zero, a pointer to a function to filter the output of
          help messages.  *Note Argp Help Filtering::.

    `const char *argp_domain'
          If non-zero, the strings used in the argp library are
          translated using the domain described by this string.
          Otherwise the currently installed default domain is used.


   The `options', `parser', `args_doc', and `doc' fields are usually
all that are needed.  If an argp parser is defined as an initialized C
variable, only the used fields need be specified in the
initializer--the rest will default to zero due to the way C structure
initialization works (this fact is exploited for most argp structures,
grouping the most-used fields near the beginning, so that unused fields
can simply be left unspecified).

* Menu:

* Options: Argp Option Vectors.   Specifying options in an argp parser.
* Argp Parser Functions::         Defining actions for an argp parser.
* Children: Argp Children.        Combining multiple argp parsers.
* Help Filtering: Argp Help Filtering.  Customizing help output for an argp parser.


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Option Vectors,  Next: Argp Parser Functions,  Prev: Argp Parsers,  Up: Argp Parsers

Specifying Options in an Argp Parser
------------------------------------

   The `options' field in a `struct argp' points to a vector of `struct
argp_option' structures, each of which specifies an option that argp
parser supports (actually, sometimes multiple entries may used for a
single option if it has many names).  It should be terminated by an
entry with zero in all fields (note that when using an initialized C
array for options, writing `{ 0 }' is enough to achieve this).

 - Data Type: struct argp_option
     This structure specifies a single option that an argp parser
     understands, and how to parse and document it.  It has the
     following fields:

    `const char *name'
          The long name for this option, corresponding to the long
          option `--NAME'; this field can be zero if this option only
          has a short name.  To specify multiple names for an option,
          additional entries may follow this one, with the
          `OPTION_ALIAS' flag set (*note Argp Option Flags::).

    `int key'
          The integer key that is provided to the argp parser's parsing
          function when this option is being parsed.  Also, if KEY has
          a value that is a printable ASCII character (i.e., `isascii
          (KEY)' is true), it _also_ specifies a short option `-CHAR',
          where CHAR is the ASCII character with the code KEY.

    `const char *arg'
          If non-zero, this is the name of an argument associated with
          this option, which must be provided (e.g., with the
          `--NAME=VALUE' or `-CHAR VALUE' syntaxes) unless the
          `OPTION_ARG_OPTIONAL' flag (*note Argp Option Flags::) is
          set, in which case it _may_ be provided.

    `int flags'
          Flags associated with this option (some of which are referred
          to above).  *Note Argp Option Flags::.

    `const char *doc'
          A documentation string for this option, for printing in help
          messages.

          If both the `name' and `key' fields are zero, this string
          will be printed out-dented from the normal option column,
          making it useful as a group header (it will be the first
          thing printed in its group); in this usage, it's conventional
          to end the string with a `:' character.

    `int group'
          The group this option is in.

          In a long help message, options are sorted alphabetically
          within each group, and the groups presented in the order 0,
          1, 2, ..., N, -M, ..., -2, -1.  Every entry in an options
          array with this field 0 will inherit the group number of the
          previous entry, or zero if it's the first one, unless its a
          group header (`name' and `key' fields both zero), in which
          case, the previous entry + 1 is the default.  Automagic
          options such as `--help' are put into group -1.

          Note that because of C structure initialization rules, this
          field often need not be specified, because 0 is the right
          value.

* Menu:

* Flags: Argp Option Flags.     Flags for options.


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Option Flags,  Up: Argp Option Vectors

Flags for Argp Options
......................

   The following flags may be or'd together in the `flags' field of a
`struct argp_option', and control various aspects of how that option is
parsed or displayed in help messages:

`OPTION_ARG_OPTIONAL'
     The argument associated with this option is optional.

`OPTION_HIDDEN'
     This option isn't displayed in any help messages.

`OPTION_ALIAS'
     This option is an alias for the closest previous non-alias option.
     This means that it will be displayed in the same help entry, and
     will inherit fields other than `name' and `key' from the aliased
     option.

`OPTION_DOC'
     This option isn't actually an option (and so should be ignored by
     the actual option parser), but rather an arbitrary piece of
     documentation that should be displayed in much the same manner as
     the options (known as a "documentation option").

     If this flag is set, then the option `name' field is displayed
     unmodified (e.g., no `--' prefix is added) at the left-margin
     (where a _short_ option would normally be displayed), and the
     documentation string in the normal place.  For purposes of
     sorting, any leading whitespace and punctuation is ignored, except
     that if the first non-whitespace character is not `-', this entry
     is displayed after all options (and `OPTION_DOC' entries with a
     leading `-') in the same group.

`OPTION_NO_USAGE'
     This option shouldn't be included in `long' usage messages (but is
     still included in help messages).  This is mainly intended for
     options that are completely documented in an argp's `args_doc'
     field (*note Argp Parsers::), in which case including the option
     in the generic usage list would be redundant.

     For instance, if `args_doc' is `"FOO BAR\n-x BLAH"', and the `-x'
     option's purpose is to distinguish these two cases, `-x' should
     probably be marked `OPTION_NO_USAGE'.


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Parser Functions,  Next: Argp Children,  Prev: Argp Option Vectors,  Up: Argp Parsers

Argp Parser Functions
---------------------

   The function pointed to by the `parser' field in a `struct argp'
(*note Argp Parsers::) defines what actions take place in response to
each option or argument that is parsed, and is also used as a hook, to
allow a parser to do something at certain other points during parsing.

   Argp parser functions have the following type signature:

     error_t PARSER (int KEY, char *ARG, struct argp_state *STATE)

where the arguments are as follows:

KEY
     For each option that is parsed, PARSER is called with a value of
     KEY from that option's `key' field in the option vector (*note
     Argp Option Vectors::).  PARSER is also called at other times with
     special reserved keys, such as `ARGP_KEY_ARG' for non-option
     arguments.  *Note Argp Special Keys::.

ARG
     If KEY is an option, ARG is the value given for it, or zero if no
     value was specified.  Only options that have a non-zero `arg'
     field can ever have a value, and those must _always_ have a value,
     unless the `OPTION_ARG_OPTIONAL' flag was specified (if the input
     being parsed specifies a value for an option that doesn't allow
     one, an error results before PARSER ever gets called).

     If KEY is `ARGP_KEY_ARG', ARG is a non-option argument; other
     special keys always have a zero ARG.

STATE
     STATE points to a `struct argp_state', containing useful
     information about the current parsing state for use by PARSER.
     *Note Argp Parsing State::.

   When PARSER is called, it should perform whatever action is
appropriate for KEY, and return either `0' for success,
`ARGP_ERR_UNKNOWN', if the value of KEY is not handled by this parser
function, or a unix error code if a real error occurred (*note Error
Codes::).

 - Macro: int ARGP_ERR_UNKNOWN
     Argp parser functions should return `ARGP_ERR_UNKNOWN' for any KEY
     value they do not recognize, or for non-option arguments (`KEY ==
     ARGP_KEY_ARG') that they do not wish to handle.

   A typical parser function uses a switch statement on KEY:

     error_t
     parse_opt (int key, char *arg, struct argp_state *state)
     {
       switch (key)
         {
         case OPTION_KEY:
           ACTION
           break;
         ...
         default:
           return ARGP_ERR_UNKNOWN;
         }
       return 0;
     }

* Menu:

* Keys: Argp Special Keys.           Special values for the KEY argument.
* State: Argp Parsing State.         What the STATE argument refers to.
* Functions: Argp Helper Functions.  Functions to help during argp parsing.


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Special Keys,  Next: Argp Parsing State,  Up: Argp Parser Functions

Special Keys for Argp Parser Functions
......................................

   In addition to key values corresponding to user options, the KEY
argument to argp parser functions may have a number of other special
values (ARG and STATE refer to parser function arguments; *note Argp
Parser Functions::):

`ARGP_KEY_ARG'
     This is not an option at all, but rather a command line argument,
     whose value is pointed to by ARG.

     When there are multiple parser functions (due to argp parsers being
     combined), it's impossible to know which one wants to handle an
     argument, so each is called in turn, until one returns 0 or an
     error other than `ARGP_ERR_UNKNOWN'; if an argument is handled by
     no one, `argp_parse' immediately returns success, without parsing
     any more arguments.

     Once a parser function returns success for this key, that fact is
     recorded, and the `ARGP_KEY_NO_ARGS' case won't be used.
     _However_, if while processing the argument, a parser function
     decrements the `next' field of its STATE argument, the option
     won't be considered processed; this is to allow you to actually
     modify the argument (perhaps into an option), and have it
     processed again.

`ARGP_KEY_ARGS'
     If a parser function returns `ARGP_ERR_UNKNOWN' for
     `ARGP_KEY_ARG', it is immediately called again with the key
     `ARGP_KEY_ARGS', which has a similar meaning, but is slightly more
     convenient for consuming all remaining arguments.  ARG is 0, and
     the tail of the argument vector may be found at `STATE->argv +
     STATE->next'.  If success is returned for this key, and
     `STATE->next' is unchanged, then all remaining arguments are
     considered to have been consumed, otherwise, the amount by which
     `STATE->next' has been adjust indicates how many were used.  For
     instance, here's an example that uses both, for different args:

          ...
          case ARGP_KEY_ARG:
            if (STATE->arg_num == 0)
              /* First argument */
              first_arg = ARG;
            else
              /* Let the next case parse it.  */
              return ARGP_KEY_UNKNOWN;
            break;
          case ARGP_KEY_ARGS:
            remaining_args = STATE->argv + STATE->next;
            num_remaining_args = STATE->argc - STATE->next;
            break;

`ARGP_KEY_END'
     There are no more command line arguments at all.  The parser
     functions are called in different order (means children first) for
     this value which allows each parser to clean up its state for the
     parent.

`ARGP_KEY_NO_ARGS'
     Because it's common to want to do some special processing if there
     aren't any non-option args, parser functions are called with this
     key if they didn't successfully process any non-option arguments.
     Called just before `ARGP_KEY_END' (where more general validity
     checks on previously parsed arguments can take place).

`ARGP_KEY_INIT'
     Passed in before any parsing is done.  Afterwards, the values of
     each element of the `child_input' field of STATE, if any, are
     copied to each child's state to be the initial value of the `input'
     when _their_ parsers are called.

`ARGP_KEY_SUCCESS'
     Passed in when parsing has successfully been completed (even if
     there are still arguments remaining).

`ARGP_KEY_ERROR'
     Passed in if an error has occurred, and parsing terminated (in
     which case a call with a key of `ARGP_KEY_SUCCESS' is never made).

`ARGP_KEY_FINI'
     The final key ever seen by any parser (even after
     `ARGP_KEY_SUCCESS' and `ARGP_KEY_ERROR').  Any resources allocated
     by `ARGP_KEY_INIT' may be freed here (although sometimes certain
     resources allocated there are to be returned to the caller after a
     successful parse; in that case, those particular resources can be
     freed in the `ARGP_KEY_ERROR' case).

   In all cases, `ARGP_KEY_INIT' is the first key seen by parser
functions, and `ARGP_KEY_FINI' the last (unless an error was returned
by the parser for `ARGP_KEY_INIT').  Other keys can occur in one the
following orders (OPT refers to an arbitrary option key):

OPT... `ARGP_KEY_NO_ARGS' `ARGP_KEY_END' `ARGP_KEY_SUCCESS'
     The arguments being parsed contained no non-option arguments at
     all.

( OPT | `ARGP_KEY_ARG' )... `ARGP_KEY_END' `ARGP_KEY_SUCCESS'
     All non-option arguments were successfully handled by a parser
     function (there may be multiple parser functions if multiple argp
     parsers were combined).

( OPT | `ARGP_KEY_ARG' )... `ARGP_KEY_SUCCESS'
     Some non-option argument was unrecognized.

     This occurs when every parser function returns `ARGP_KEY_UNKNOWN'
     for an argument, in which case parsing stops at that argument.  If
     ARG_INDEX is a null pointer otherwise an error occurs.

   In all cases, if a non-null value for ARG_INDEX was passed to
`argp_parse', the index of the first unparsed command-line argument is
passed back in it.

   If an error occurs (either detected by argp, or because a parser
function returned an error value), then each parser is called with
`ARGP_KEY_ERROR', and no further calls are made except the final call
with `ARGP_KEY_FINI'.


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Helper Functions,  Prev: Argp Parsing State,  Up: Argp Parser Functions

Functions For Use in Argp Parsers
.................................

   Argp provides a number of functions for the user of argp parser
functions (*note Argp Parser Functions::), mostly for producing error
messages.  These take as their first argument the STATE argument to the
parser function (*note Argp Parsing State::).

 - Function: void argp_usage (const struct argp_state *STATE)
     Output the standard usage message for the argp parser referred to
     by STATE to `STATE->err_stream' and terminate the program with
     `exit (argp_err_exit_status)' (*note Argp Global Variables::).

 - Function: void argp_error (const struct argp_state *STATE, const
          char *FMT, ...)
     Print the printf format string FMT and following args, preceded by
     the program name and `:', and followed by a `Try ... --help'
     message, and terminate the program with an exit status of
     `argp_err_exit_status' (*note Argp Global Variables::).

 - Function: void argp_failure (const struct argp_state *STATE, int
          STATUS, int ERRNUM, const char *FMT, ...)
     Similarly to the standard gnu error-reporting function `error',
     print the printf format string FMT and following args, preceded by
     the program name and `:', and followed by the standard unix error
     text for ERRNUM if it is non-zero; then if STATUS is non-zero,
     terminate the program with that as its exit status.

     The difference between this function and `argp_error' is that
     `argp_error' is for _parsing errors_, whereas `argp_failure' is
     for other problems that occur during parsing but don't reflect a
     syntactic problem with the input--such as illegal values for
     options, bad phase of the moon, etc.

 - Function: void argp_state_help (const struct argp_state *STATE, FILE
          *STREAM, unsigned FLAGS)
     Output a help message for the argp parser referred to by STATE to
     STREAM.  The FLAGS argument determines what sort of help message
     is produced.  *Note Argp Help Flags::.

   Error output is sent to `STATE->err_stream', and the program name
printed is `STATE->name'.

   The output or program termination behavior of these functions may be
suppressed if the `ARGP_NO_EXIT' or `ARGP_NO_ERRS' flags, respectively,
were passed to `argp_parse'.  *Note Argp Flags::.

   This behavior is useful if an argp parser is exported for use by
other programs (e.g., by a library), and may be used in a context where
it is not desirable to terminate the program in response to parsing
errors.  In argp parsers intended for such general use, calls to any of
these functions should be followed by code return of an appropriate
error code for the case where the program _doesn't_ terminate; for
example:

     if (BAD ARGUMENT SYNTAX)
       {
          argp_usage (STATE);
          return EINVAL;
       }

If it's known that a parser function will only be used when
`ARGP_NO_EXIT' is not set, the return may be omitted.


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Parsing State,  Next: Argp Helper Functions,  Prev: Argp Special Keys,  Up: Argp Parser Functions

Argp Parsing State
..................

   The third argument to argp parser functions (*note Argp Parser
Functions::) is a pointer to a `struct argp_state', which contains
information about the state of the option parsing.

 - Data Type: struct argp_state
     This structure has the following fields, which may be modified as
     noted:

    `const struct argp *const root_argp'
          The top level argp parser being parsed.  Note that this is
          often _not_ the same `struct argp' passed into `argp_parse' by
          the invoking program (*note Argp::), but instead an internal
          argp parser that contains options implemented by `argp_parse'
          itself (such as `--help').

    `int argc'
    `char **argv'
          The argument vector being parsed.  May be modified.

    `int next'
          The index in `argv' of the next argument to be parsed.  May
          be modified.

          One way to consume all remaining arguments in the input is to
          set `STATE->next = STATE->argc' (perhaps after recording the
          value of the `next' field to find the consumed arguments).
          Also, you can cause the current option to be re-parsed by
          decrementing this field, and then modifying
          `STATE->argv[STATE->next]' to be the option that should be
          reexamined.

    `unsigned flags'
          The flags supplied to `argp_parse'.  May be modified,
          although some flags may only take effect when `argp_parse' is
          first invoked.  *Note Argp Flags::.

    `unsigned arg_num'
          While calling a parsing function with the KEY argument
          `ARGP_KEY_ARG', this is the number of the current arg,
          starting at 0, and incremented after each such call returns.
          At all other times, this is the number of such arguments that
          have been processed.

    `int quoted'
          If non-zero, the index in `argv' of the first argument
          following a special `--' argument (which prevents anything
          following being interpreted as an option).  Only set once
          argument parsing has proceeded past this point.

    `void *input'
          An arbitrary pointer passed in from the caller of
          `argp_parse', in the INPUT argument.

    `void **child_inputs'
          Values to pass to child parsers.  This vector will be the
          same length as the number of children in the current parser,
          and each child parser will be given the value of
          `STATE->child_inputs[I]' as _its_ `STATE->input' field, where
          I is the index of the child in the this parser's `children'
          field.  *Note Argp Children::.

    `void *hook'
          For the parser function's use.  Initialized to 0, but
          otherwise ignored by argp.

    `char *name'
          The name used when printing messages.  This is initialized to
          `argv[0]', or `program_invocation_name' if that is
          unavailable.

    `FILE *err_stream'
    `FILE *out_stream'
          Stdio streams used when argp prints something; error messages
          are printed to `err_stream', and all other output (such as
          `--help' output) to `out_stream'.  These are initialized to
          `stderr' and `stdout' respectively (*note Standard Streams::).

    `void *pstate'
          Private, for use by the argp implementation.


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Children,  Next: Argp Help Filtering,  Prev: Argp Parser Functions,  Up: Argp Parsers

Combining Multiple Argp Parsers
-------------------------------

   The `children' field in a `struct argp' allows other argp parsers to
be combined with the referencing one to parse a single set of
arguments.  It should point to a vector of `struct argp_child',
terminated by an entry having a value of zero in the `argp' field.

   Where conflicts between combined parsers arise (for instance, if two
specify an option with the same name), they are resolved in favor of
the parent argp parsers, or earlier argp parsers in the list of
children.

 - Data Type: struct argp_child
     An entry in the list of subsidiary argp parsers pointed to by the
     `children' field in a `struct argp'.  The fields are as follows:

    `const struct argp *argp'
          The child argp parser, or zero to end the list.

    `int flags'
          Flags for this child.

    `const char *header'
          If non-zero, an optional header to be printed in help output
          before the child options.  As a side-effect, a non-zero value
          forces the child options to be grouped together; to achieve
          this effect without actually printing a header string, use a
          value of `""'.  As with header strings specified in an option
          entry, the value conventionally has `:' as the last
          character.  *Note Argp Option Vectors::.

    `int group'
          Where to group the child options relative to the other
          (`consolidated') options in the parent argp parser.  The
          values are the same as the `group' field in `struct
          argp_option' (*note Argp Option Vectors::), but all
          child-groupings follow parent options at a particular group
          level.  If both this field and `header' are zero, then the
          child's options aren't grouped together at all, but rather
          merged with the parent options (merging the child's grouping
          levels with the parents).


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Flags,  Next: Argp Help,  Prev: Argp Parsers,  Up: Argp

Flags for `argp_parse'
----------------------

   The default behavior of `argp_parse' is designed to be convenient
for the most common case of parsing program command line argument.  To
modify these defaults, the following flags may be or'd together in the
FLAGS argument to `argp_parse':

`ARGP_PARSE_ARGV0'
     Don't ignore the first element of the ARGV argument to
     `argp_parse'.  Normally (and always unless `ARGP_NO_ERRS' is set)
     the first element of the argument vector is skipped for option
     parsing purposes, as it corresponds to the program name in a
     command line.

`ARGP_NO_ERRS'
     Don't print error messages for unknown options to `stderr'; unless
     this flag is set, `ARGP_PARSE_ARGV0' is ignored, as `argv[0]' is
     used as the program name in the error messages.  This flag implies
     `ARGP_NO_EXIT' (on the assumption that silent exiting upon errors
     is bad behaviour).

`ARGP_NO_ARGS'
     Don't parse any non-option args.  Normally non-option args are
     parsed by calling the parse functions with a key of
     `ARGP_KEY_ARG', and the actual arg as the value.  This flag
     needn't normally be set, as the normal behavior is to stop parsing
     as soon as some argument isn't accepted by a parsing function.
     *Note Argp Parser Functions::.

`ARGP_IN_ORDER'
     Parse options and arguments in the same order they occur on the
     command line--normally they're rearranged so that all options come
     first

`ARGP_NO_HELP'
     Don't provide the standard long option `--help', which ordinarily
     causes usage and option help information to be output to `stdout',
     and `exit (0)' called.

`ARGP_NO_EXIT'
     Don't exit on errors (they may still result in error messages).

`ARGP_LONG_ONLY'
     Use the gnu getopt `long-only' rules for parsing arguments.  This
     allows long-options to be recognized with only a single `-' (for
     instances, `-help'), but results in a generally somewhat less
     useful interface, that conflicts with the way most GNU programs
     work.  For this reason, its use is discouraged.

`ARGP_SILENT'
     Turns off any message-printing/exiting options, specifically
     `ARGP_NO_EXIT', `ARGP_NO_ERRS', and `ARGP_NO_HELP'.


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Help Filtering,  Prev: Argp Children,  Up: Argp Parsers

Customizing Argp Help Output
----------------------------

   The `help_filter' field in a `struct argp' is a pointer to a
function to filter the text of help messages before displaying them.
They have a function signature like:

     char *HELP-FILTER (int KEY, const char *TEXT, void *INPUT)

where KEY is either a key from an option, in which case TEXT is that
option's help text (*note Argp Option Vectors::), or one of the special
keys with names beginning with `ARGP_KEY_HELP_', describing which other
help text TEXT is (*note Argp Help Filter Keys::).

   The function should return either TEXT, if it should be used as-is,
a replacement string, which should be allocated using `malloc', and
will be freed by argp, or zero, meaning `print nothing'.  The value of
TEXT supplied is _after_ any translation has been done, so if any of
the replacement text also needs translation, that should be done by the
filter function.  INPUT is either the input supplied to `argp_parse',
or zero, if `argp_help' was called directly by the user.

* Menu:

* Keys: Argp Help Filter Keys.  Special KEY values for help filter functions.


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Help Filter Keys,  Up: Argp Help Filtering

Special Keys for Argp Help Filter Functions
...........................................

   The following special values may be passed to an argp help filter
function as the first argument, in addition to key values for user
options, and specify which help text the TEXT argument contains:

`ARGP_KEY_HELP_PRE_DOC'
     Help text preceding options.

`ARGP_KEY_HELP_POST_DOC'
     Help text following options.

`ARGP_KEY_HELP_HEADER'
     Option header string.

`ARGP_KEY_HELP_EXTRA'
     After all other documentation; TEXT is zero for this key.

`ARGP_KEY_HELP_DUP_ARGS_NOTE'
     The explanatory note emitted when duplicate option arguments have
     been suppressed.

`ARGP_KEY_HELP_ARGS_DOC'
     The argument doc string (the `args_doc' field from the argp parser;
     *note Argp Parsers::).


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Help,  Next: Argp Examples,  Prev: Argp Flags,  Up: Argp

The `argp_help' Function
------------------------

   Normally programs using argp need not worry too much about printing
argument-usage-type help messages, because the standard `--help' option
is handled automatically by argp, and the typical error cases can be
handled using `argp_usage' and `argp_error' (*note Argp Helper
Functions::).

   However, if it's desirable to print a standard help message in some
context other than parsing the program options, argp offers the
`argp_help' interface.

 - Function: void argp_help (const struct argp *ARGP, FILE *STREAM,
          unsigned FLAGS, char *NAME)
     Output a help message for the argp parser ARGP to STREAM.  What
     sort of messages is printed is determined by FLAGS.

     Any options such as `--help' that are implemented automatically by
     argp itself will _not_ be present in the help output; for this
     reason, it is better to use `argp_state_help' if calling from
     within an argp parser function.  *Note Argp Helper Functions::.

* Menu:

* Flags: Argp Help Flags.       Specifying what sort of help message to print.


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Help Flags,  Up: Argp Help

Flags for the `argp_help' Function
----------------------------------

   When calling `argp_help' (*note Argp Help::), or `argp_state_help'
(*note Argp Helper Functions::), exactly what is output is determined
by the FLAGS argument, which should consist of any of the following
flags, or'd together:

`ARGP_HELP_USAGE'
     A unix `Usage:' message that explicitly lists all options.

`ARGP_HELP_SHORT_USAGE'
     A unix `Usage:' message that displays only an appropriate
     placeholder to indicate where the options go; useful for showing
     the non-option argument syntax.

`ARGP_HELP_SEE'
     A `Try ... for more help' message; `...' contains the program name
     and `--help'.

`ARGP_HELP_LONG'
     A verbose option help message that gives each option understood
     along with its documentation string.

`ARGP_HELP_PRE_DOC'
     The part of the argp parser doc string that precedes the verbose
     option help.

`ARGP_HELP_POST_DOC'
     The part of the argp parser doc string that follows the verbose
     option help.

`ARGP_HELP_DOC'
     `(ARGP_HELP_PRE_DOC | ARGP_HELP_POST_DOC)'

`ARGP_HELP_BUG_ADDR'
     A message saying where to report bugs for this program, if the
     `argp_program_bug_address' variable contains one.

`ARGP_HELP_LONG_ONLY'
     Modify any output appropriately to reflect `ARGP_LONG_ONLY' mode.

   The following flags are only understood when used with
`argp_state_help', and control whether the function returns after
printing its output, or terminates the program:

`ARGP_HELP_EXIT_ERR'
     Terminate the program with `exit (argp_err_exit_status)'.

`ARGP_HELP_EXIT_OK'
     Terminate the program with `exit (0)'.

   The following flags are combinations of the basic ones for printing
standard messages:

`ARGP_HELP_STD_ERR'
     Assuming an error message for a parsing error has already printed,
     prints a note on how to get help, and terminates the program with
     an error.

`ARGP_HELP_STD_USAGE'
     Prints a standard usage message and terminates the program with an
     error.  This is used when no more specific error message is
     appropriate.

`ARGP_HELP_STD_HELP'
     Prints the standard response for a `--help' option, and terminates
     the program successfully.


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Examples,  Next: Argp User Customization,  Prev: Argp Help,  Up: Argp

Argp Examples
-------------

   These example programs demonstrate the basic usage of argp.

* Menu:

* 1: Argp Example 1.            A minimal program using argp.
* 2: Argp Example 2.            A program using only default options.
* 3: Argp Example 3.            A simple program with user options.
* 4: Argp Example 4.            Combining multiple argp parsers.


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Example 1,  Next: Argp Example 2,  Up: Argp Examples

A Minimal Program Using Argp
............................

   This is (probably) the smallest possible program that uses argp.  It
won't do much except give an error messages and exit when there are any
arguments, and print a (rather pointless) message for `--help'.

     /* Argp example #1 - a minimal program using argp */
     
     /* This is (probably) the smallest possible program that
        uses argp.  It won't do much except give an error
        messages and exit when there are any arguments, and print
        a (rather pointless) messages for -help. */
     
     #include <argp.h>
     
     int main (int argc, char **argv)
     {
       argp_parse (0, argc, argv, 0, 0, 0);
       exit (0);
     }


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Example 2,  Next: Argp Example 3,  Prev: Argp Example 1,  Up: Argp Examples

A Program Using Argp with Only Default Options
..............................................

   This program doesn't use any options or arguments, but uses argp to
be compliant with the GNU standard command line format.

   In addition to making sure no arguments are given, and implementing a
`--help' option, this example will have a `--version' option, and will
put the given documentation string and bug address in the `--help'
output, as per GNU standards.

   The variable `argp' contains the argument parser specification;
adding fields to this structure is the way most parameters are passed to
`argp_parse' (the first three fields are usually used, but not in this
small program).  There are also two global variables that argp knows
about defined here, `argp_program_version' and
`argp_program_bug_address' (they are global variables because they will
almost always be constant for a given program, even if it uses
different argument parsers for various tasks).

     /* Argp example #2 - a pretty minimal program using argp */
     
     /* This program doesn't use any options or arguments, but uses
        argp to be compliant with the GNU standard command line
        format.
     
        In addition to making sure no arguments are given, and
        implementing a -help option, this example will have a
        -version option, and will put the given documentation string
        and bug address in the -help output, as per GNU standards.
     
        The variable ARGP contains the argument parser specification;
        adding fields to this structure is the way most parameters are
        passed to argp_parse (the first three fields are usually used,
        but not in this small program).  There are also two global
        variables that argp knows about defined here,
        ARGP_PROGRAM_VERSION and ARGP_PROGRAM_BUG_ADDRESS (they are
        global variables becuase they will almost always be constant
        for a given program, even if it uses different argument
        parsers for various tasks). */
     
     #include <argp.h>
     
     const char *argp_program_version =
       "argp-ex2 1.0";
     const char *argp_program_bug_address =
       "<bug-gnu-utils@gnu.org>";
     
     /* Program documentation. */
     static char doc[] =
       "Argp example #2 -- a pretty minimal program using argp";
     
     /* Our argument parser.  The `options', `parser', and
        `args_doc' fields are zero because we have neither options or
        arguments; `doc' and `argp_program_bug_address' will be
        used in the output for `--help', and the `--version'
        option will print out `argp_program_version'. */
     static struct argp argp = { 0, 0, 0, doc };
     
     int main (int argc, char **argv)
     {
       argp_parse (&argp, argc, argv, 0, 0, 0);
       exit (0);
     }


File: libc.info,  Node: Argp Example 3,  Next: Argp Example 4,  Prev: Argp Example 2,  Up: Argp Examples

A Program Using Argp with User Options
......................................

   This program uses the same features as example 2, and adds user
options and arguments.

   We now use the first four fields in `argp' (*note Argp Parsers::),
and specifies `parse_opt' as the parser function (*note Argp Parser
Functions::).

   Note that in this example, `main' uses a structure to communicate
with the `parse_opt' function, a pointer to which it passes in the
`input' argument to `argp_parse' (*note Argp::), and is retrieved by
`parse_opt' through the `input' field in its `state' argument (*note
Argp Parsing State::).  Of course, it's also possible to use global
variables instead, but using a structure like this is somewhat more
flexible and clean.

     /* Argp example #3 - a program with options and arguments using argp */
     
     /* This program uses the same features as example 2, and uses options and
        arguments.
     
        We now use the first four fields in ARGP, so here's a description of them:
          OPTIONS  - A pointer to a vector of struct argp_option (see below)
          PARSER   - A function to parse a single option, called by argp
          ARGS_DOC - A string describing how the non-option arguments should look
          DOC      - A descriptive string about this program; if it contains a
                      vertical tab character (\v), the part after it will be
                      printed *following* the options
     
        The function PARSER takes the following arguments:
          KEY  - An integer specifying which option this is (taken
                  from the KEY field in each struct argp_option), or
                  a special key specifying something else; the only
                  special keys we use here are ARGP_KEY_ARG, meaning
                  a non-option argument, and ARGP_KEY_END, meaning
                  that all arguments have been parsed
          ARG  - For an option KEY, the string value of its
                  argument, or NULL if it has none
          STATE- A pointer to a struct argp_state, containing
                  various useful information about the parsing state; used here
                  are the INPUT field, which reflects the INPUT argument to
                  argp_parse, and the ARG_NUM field, which is the number of the
                  current non-option argument being parsed
        It should return either 0, meaning success, ARGP_ERR_UNKNOWN, meaning the
        given KEY wasn't recognized, or an errno value indicating some other
        error.
     
        Note that in this example, main uses a structure to communicate with the
        parse_opt function, a pointer to which it passes in the INPUT argument to
        argp_parse.  Of course, it's also possible to use global variables
        instead, but this is somewhat more flexible.
     
        The OPTIONS field contains a pointer to a vector of struct argp_option's;
        that structure has the following fields (if you assign your option
        structures using array initialization like this example, unspecified
        fields will be defaulted to 0, and need not be specified):
          NAME   - The name of this option's long option (may be zero)
          KEY    - The KEY to pass to the PARSER function when parsing this option,
                    *and* the name of this option's short option, if it is a
                    printable ascii character
          ARG    - The name of this option's argument, if any
          FLAGS  - Flags describing this option; some of them are:
                      OPTION_ARG_OPTIONAL - The argument to this option is optional
                      OPTION_ALIAS        - This option is an alias for the
                                             previous option
                      OPTION_HIDDEN       - Don't show this option in -help output
          DOC    - A documentation string for this option, shown in -help output
     
        An options vector should be terminated by an option with all fields zero. */
     
     #include <argp.h>
     
     const char *argp_program_version =
       "argp-ex3 1.0";
     const char *argp_program_bug_address =
       "<bug-gnu-utils@gnu.org>";
     
     /* Program documentation. */
     static char doc[] =
       "Argp example #3 -- a program with options and arguments using argp";
     
     /* A description of the arguments we accept. */
     static char args_doc[] = "ARG1 ARG2";
     
     /* The options we understand. */
     static struct argp_option options[] = {
       {"verbose",  'v', 0,      0,  "Produce verbose output" },
       {"quiet",    'q', 0,      0,  "Don't produce any output" },
       {"silent",   's', 0,      OPTION_ALIAS },
       {"output",   'o', "FILE", 0,
        "Output to FILE instead of standard output" },
       { 0 }
     };
     
     /* Used by `main' to communicate with `parse_opt'. */
     struct arguments
     {
       char *args[2];                /* ARG1 & ARG2 */
       int silent, verbose;
       char *output_file;
     };
     
     /* Parse a single option. */
     static error_t
     parse_opt (int key, char *arg, struct argp_state *state)
     {
       /* Get the INPUT argument from `argp_parse', which we
          know is a pointer to our arguments structure. */
       struct arguments *arguments = state->input;
     
       switch (key)
         {
         case 'q': case 's':
           arguments->silent = 1;
           break;
         case 'v':
           arguments->verbose = 1;
           break;
         case 'o':
           arguments->output_file = arg;
           break;
     
         case ARGP_KEY_ARG:
           if (state->arg_num >= 2)
             /* Too many arguments. */
             argp_usage (state);
     
           arguments->args[state->arg_num] = arg;
     
           break;
     
         case ARGP_KEY_END:
           if (state->arg_num < 2)
             /* Not enough arguments. */
             argp_usage (state);
           break;
     
         default:
           return ARGP_ERR_UNKNOWN;
         }
       return 0;
     }
     
     /* Our argp parser. */
     static struct argp argp = { options, parse_opt, args_doc, doc };
     
     int main (int argc, char **argv)
     {
       struct arguments arguments;
     
       /* Default values. */
       arguments.silent = 0;
       arguments.verbose = 0;
       arguments.output_file = "-";
     
       /* Parse our arguments; every option seen by `parse_opt' will
          be reflected in `arguments'. */
       argp_parse (&argp, argc, argv, 0, 0, &arguments);
     
       printf ("ARG1 = %s\nARG2 = %s\nOUTPUT_FILE = %s\n"
               "VERBOSE = %s\nSILENT = %s\n",
               arguments.args[0], arguments.args[1],
               arguments.output_file,
               arguments.verbose ? "yes" : "no",
               arguments.silent ? "yes" : "no");
     
       exit (0);
     }

