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groovy.util
[Groovy] Class CliBuilder

java.lang.Object
  groovy.util.CliBuilder

class CliBuilder
extends java.lang.Object

Provides a builder to assist the processing of command line arguments.

Typical usage (emulate partial arg processing of unix command: ls -alt *.groovy): 

 def cli = new CliBuilder(usage:'ls')
 cli.a('display all files')
 cli.l('use a long listing format')
 cli.t('sort by modification time')
 def options = cli.parse(args)
 assert options // would be null (false) on failure
 assert options.arguments() == ['*.groovy']
 assert options.a && options.l && options.t
The usage message for this example (obtained using cli.usage()) is shown below: 
 usage: ls
  -a   display all files
  -l   use a long listing format
  -t   sort by modification time
An underlying parser that supports what is called argument 'bursting' is used by default. Bursting would convert '-alt' into '-a -l -t' provided no long option exists with value 'alt' and provided that none of 'a', 'l' or 't' takes an argument (in fact the last one is allowed to take an argument). The bursting behavior can be turned off by using an alternate underlying parser. The simplest way to achieve this is by setting the posix property on the CliBuilder to false, i.e. include posix: false in the constructor call.

Another example (partial emulation of arg processing for 'ant' command line): 

 def cli = new CliBuilder(usage:'ant [options] [targets]',
                          header:'Options:')
 cli.help('print this message')
 cli.logfile(args:1, argName:'file', 'use given file for log')
 cli.D(args:2, valueSeparator:'=', argName:'property=value',
       'use value for given property')
 def options = cli.parse(args)
 ...
Usage message would be: 
 usage: ant [options] [targets]
 Options:
  -D <property=value>   use value for given property
  -help                 print this message
  -logfile <file>       use given file for log
And if called with the following arguments '-logfile foo -Dbar=baz target' then the following assertions would be true: 
 assert options // would be null (false) on failure
 assert options.arguments() == ['target']
 assert options.Ds == ['bar', 'baz']
 assert options.logfile == 'foo'
Note the use of some special notation. By adding 's' onto an option that may appear multiple times and has an argument or as in this case uses a valueSeparator to separate multiple argument values causes the list of associated argument values to be returned.

Another example showing long options (partial emulation of arg processing for 'curl' command line): 

 def cli = new CliBuilder(usage:'curl [options] <url>')
 cli._(longOpt:'basic', 'Use HTTP Basic Authentication')
 cli.d(longOpt:'data', args:1, argName:'data', 'HTTP POST data')
 cli.G(longOpt:'get', 'Send the -d data with a HTTP GET')
 cli.q('If used as the first parameter disables .curlrc')
 cli._(longOpt:'url', args:1, argName:'URL', 'Set URL to work with')
Which has the following usage message: 
 usage: curl [options] <url>
     --basic         Use HTTP Basic Authentication
  -d,--data <data>   HTTP POST data
  -G,--get           Send the -d data with a HTTP GET
  -q                 If used as the first parameter disables .curlrc
     --url <URL>     Set URL to work with
This example shows a common convention. When mixing short and long names, the short names are often one character in size. One character options with arguments don't require a space between the option and the argument, e.g. -Ddebug=true. The example also shows the use of '_' when no short option is applicable.

Also note that '_' was used multiple times. This is supported but if any other shortOpt or any longOpt is repeated, then the behavior is undefined.

Short option names may not contain a hyphen. If a long option name contains a hyphen, e.g. '--max-wait' then you can either use the long hand method call options.hasOption('max-wait') or surround the option name in quotes, e.g. options.'max-wait'.

Although CliBuilder on the whole hides away the underlying library used for processing the arguments, it does provide some hooks which let you make use of the underlying library directly should the need arise. For example, the last two lines of the 'curl' example above could be replaced with the following: 

 import org.apache.commons.cli.*
 ... as before ...
 cli << new Option('q', false, 'If used as the first parameter disables .curlrc')
 cli << OptionBuilder.withLongOpt('url').hasArg().withArgName('URL').
                      withDescription('Set URL to work with').create()
 ...
CliBuilder also supports Argument File processing. If an argument starts with an '@' character followed by a filename, then the contents of the file with name filename are placed into the command line. The feature can be turned off by setting expandArgumentFiles to false. If turned on, you can still pass a real parameter with an initial '@' character by escaping it with an additional '@' symbol, e.g. '@@foo' will become '@foo' and not be subject to expansion. As an example, if the file temp.args contains the content: 
 -arg1
 paramA
 paramB paramC
Then calling the command line with: 
 someCommand
temp.args:
-arg2 paramD
Is the same as calling this: 
 someCommand -arg1 paramA paramB paramC -arg2 paramD
This feature is particularly useful on operating systems which place limitations on the size of the command line (e.g. Windows). The feature is similar to the 'Command Line Argument File' processing supported by javadoc and javac. Consult the corresponding documentation for those tools if you wish to see further examples.

Supported Option Properties: 

   argName:        String
   longOpt:        String
   args:           int
   optionalArg:    boolean
   required:       boolean
   type:           Object (not currently used)
   valueSeparator: char
See org.apache.commons.cli.Option for the meaning of these properties and CliBuilderTest for further examples.

Authors:
Dierk Koenig
Paul King

Property Summary
boolean expandArgumentFiles

Whether arguments of the form '@filename' will be expanded into the arguments contained within the file named filename (default true).
java.lang.String footer

Optional additional message for usage; displayed after the options are displayed.
org.apache.commons.cli.HelpFormatter formatter

Normally set internally but can be overridden if you want to customise how the usage message is displayed.
java.lang.String header

Optional additional message for usage; displayed after the usage summary but before the options are displayed.
org.apache.commons.cli.Options options

Not normally accessed directly but full access to underlying options if needed.
org.apache.commons.cli.CommandLineParser parser

Normally set internally but allows you full customisation of the underlying processing engine.
boolean posix

To change from the default PosixParser to the GnuParser, set this to false.

boolean stopAtNonOption

Indicates that option processing should continue for all arguments even if arguments not recognized as options are encountered (default true).
java.lang.String usage

Usage summary displayed as the first line when cli.usage() is called.
int width

Allows customisation of the usage message width.
java.io.PrintWriter writer

Defaults to stdout but you can provide your own PrintWriter if desired.
 
Method Summary
static java.lang.Object expandArgumentFiles(java.lang.Object args)

java.lang.Object invokeMethod(java.lang.String name, java.lang.Object args)

Internal method: Detect option specification method calls.
org.apache.commons.cli.Option option(java.lang.Object shortname, java.util.Map details, java.lang.Object info)

Internal method: How to create an option from the specification.
OptionAccessor parse(java.lang.Object args)

Make options accessible from command line args with parser (default: Posix).

void usage()

Print the usage message with writer (default: System.out) and formatter (default: HelpFormatter)
 
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
java.lang.Object#wait(long, int), java.lang.Object#wait(long), java.lang.Object#wait(), java.lang.Object#equals(java.lang.Object), java.lang.Object#toString(), java.lang.Object#hashCode(), java.lang.Object#getClass(), java.lang.Object#notify(), java.lang.Object#notifyAll()
 

Property Detail

expandArgumentFiles

boolean expandArgumentFiles
Whether arguments of the form '@filename' will be expanded into the arguments contained within the file named filename (default true).

footer

java.lang.String footer
Optional additional message for usage; displayed after the options are displayed.

formatter

org.apache.commons.cli.HelpFormatter formatter
Normally set internally but can be overridden if you want to customise how the usage message is displayed.

header

java.lang.String header
Optional additional message for usage; displayed after the usage summary but before the options are displayed.

options

org.apache.commons.cli.Options options
Not normally accessed directly but full access to underlying options if needed.

parser

org.apache.commons.cli.CommandLineParser parser
Normally set internally but allows you full customisation of the underlying processing engine.

posix

boolean posix
To change from the default PosixParser to the GnuParser, set this to false. Ignored if the parser is explicitly set.

stopAtNonOption

boolean stopAtNonOption
Indicates that option processing should continue for all arguments even if arguments not recognized as options are encountered (default true).

usage

java.lang.String usage
Usage summary displayed as the first line when cli.usage() is called.

width

int width
Allows customisation of the usage message width.

writer

java.io.PrintWriter writer
Defaults to stdout but you can provide your own PrintWriter if desired.

 
Method Detail

expandArgumentFiles

static java.lang.Object expandArgumentFiles(java.lang.Object args)

invokeMethod

java.lang.Object invokeMethod(java.lang.String name, java.lang.Object args)
Internal method: Detect option specification method calls.

option

org.apache.commons.cli.Option option(java.lang.Object shortname, java.util.Map details, java.lang.Object info)
Internal method: How to create an option from the specification.

parse

OptionAccessor parse(java.lang.Object args)
Make options accessible from command line args with parser (default: Posix). Returns null on bad command lines after displaying usage message.

usage

void usage()
Print the usage message with writer (default: System.out) and formatter (default: HelpFormatter)

 

Groovy Documentation