Subj : announcing getopts.btm - Unix switch parsing for 4DOS
To   : All
From : Eric Pement
Date : Sat Jan 12 2002 08:03 am

From: pemente@northpark.edu (Eric Pement)

I recently completed writing getopts.btm, a 4DOS batch file to allow Unix-style 
switch parsing on the command-line. I'd like to see if anyone would be 
interested in downloading and testing it. If so, please e-mail me directly and 
I'll send you GETOPTS.ZIP which has GETOPTS.BTM, the docs, and 3 sample batch 
files to show how it can be used.

Here is the top portion of the GETOPTS documentation:

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GETOPTS.BTM version 1.0 - DOCUMENTATION

SUMMARY

   The purpose of GETOPTS.BTM is to allow 4DOS batch files to support
   Unix-style option switches on the command line. The idea is that a
   4DOS batch file can "call" GETOPTS, which locates and parses each
   option and sets environment variables, while the parent batch file
   determines which switches are allowed and handles other details. I
   wrote GETOPTS to mimic, within reason, the operation of "getopts"
   in the Unix/GNU/Linux environment.

   GETOPTS.BTM was written by Eric Pement (pemente@northpark.edu) in
   December 2001. Your feedback and suggestions for improvement are
   welcome. It is freely offered to the 4DOS user community under the
   terms of the GNU General Public License ("copyleft").

SYNTAX:

   When GETOPTS is active, the following command lines are equivalent:

      cmd -a -b -C -w foo -W "one two" word1 word2
      cmd -ba -wfoo -C -W"one two" -- word1 word2
      cmd word1 word2 -abCwfoo -W"one two"
      cmd -W "one two" word1 -bw foo word2 -aC

   Given the example above, GETOPTS will create and return the
   following environment variables to the parent batch file:

      OPTIONS=a b C!     - a list of character switches used
      STRINGS=LC_w UC_W  - a list of string switches used
      LC_W=foo           - each string switch has a separate variable
      UC_W="one two"     - case-sensitivity is kept by LC_ or UC_

   Moreover, the command tail %& will be reset to "word1 word2" since
   all the options and option-arguments have been stripped out.

FEATURES SUPPORTED:

   * Position-independent switch clustering
        "-a -b -c" equals "-ac -b" equals "-c -ba" equals "-bac".

   * 3 types of switches:
        character switches, string switches, and numeric switches.

   * Case-sensitive character switches
        "-d" and "-D" are recognized as different options. Character
        switches are alphabetic only (a-z or A-Z), and cannot take an
        argument or parameter.

   * Case-sensitive string switches
       String switches are one character (a-z or A-Z) which must take
       an argument or parameter. Thus, -f and -F may accept different
       arguments which may be passed as '-fhello' or '-F goodbye'.
       Multi-word arguments are permitted if they are enclosed in
       double quotes, such as '-g "one or more words"'.

   * Numeric options
       Numeric options may be permitted or forbidden. If permitted,
       -123 will set N=123, and --456 will set N=-456.

   * Switches and argument removed from the command tail
       Under GETOPTS, all switches and switch parameters on the
       command line are placed into appropriate environment variables
       (see SYNTAX: for examples, above). The switches are then
       removed from the command tail (%&). If the batch file executes
       external utilities, the utility's own option syntax can be used
       (e.g., /opt1, opt2:opt3, word=opt4, etc.).

   * Halt on invalid options
       The parent batch file contains a list of permissible letters
       for character and string options, and tells whether numeric
       options are allowed. The GETOPTS batch file first checks the
       list itself and then checks each option on the command-tail
       for validity. GETOPTS will halt if it detects invalid options,
       but it can be set to "pass" invalid options through instead.

   * Switch termination
       To permit processing filenames which begin with leading
       hyphens, the switch "--" terminates switch processing, and the
       rest of the command tail is returned untouched to the parent
       batch file. Further, a single hyphen "-" by itself is passed
       without modification to the command tail.

[rest of documentation deleted for space]

If interested, e-mail me at the address below, replacing the [=at=] with a real 
"@" symbol. If there's a website that's 4DOS related, feel free to post 
GETOPTS.ZIP there. Feedback would be welcome.

--
Eric Pement - pemente[=at=]northpark.edu

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