C/C++ Command Line Argument Parser
What is cargs?
cargs is a lightweight C/C++ command line argument parser library which can be used to parse argv and argc parameters passed to a main function.
Example
Here is a simple example of cargs in action.
#include <cargs.h>
#include <stdbool.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
static struct cag_option options[] = {
{.identifier = 's',
.access_letters = "s",
.access_name = NULL,
.value_name = NULL,
.description = "Simple flag"},
{.identifier = 'm',
.access_letters = "mMoO",
.access_name = NULL,
.value_name = NULL,
.description = "Multiple access letters"},
{.identifier = 'l',
.access_letters = NULL,
.access_name = "long",
.value_name = NULL,
.description = "Long parameter name"},
{.identifier = 'k',
.access_letters = "k",
.access_name = "key",
.value_name = "VALUE",
.description = "Parameter value"},
{.identifier = 'h',
.access_letters = "h",
.access_name = "help",
.description = "Shows the command help"}};
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
bool simple_flag = false, multiple_flag = false, long_flag = false;
const char *value = NULL;
int param_index;
cag_option_context context;
cag_option_init(&context, options, CAG_ARRAY_SIZE(options), argc, argv);
while (cag_option_fetch(&context)) {
switch (cag_option_get_identifier(&context)) {
case 's':
simple_flag = true;
break;
case 'm':
multiple_flag = true;
break;
case 'l':
long_flag = true;
break;
case 'k':
value = cag_option_get_value(&context);
break;
case 'h':
printf("Usage: cargsdemo [OPTION]...\n");
printf("Demonstrates the cargs library.\n\n");
cag_option_print(options, CAG_ARRAY_SIZE(options), stdout);
printf("\nNote that all formatting is done by cargs.\n");
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
case '?':
cag_option_print_error(&context, stdout);
break;
}
}
printf("simple_flag: %i, multiple_flag: %i, long_flag: %i, key: %s\n",
simple_flag, multiple_flag, long_flag, value ? value : "-");
for (param_index = cag_option_get_index(&context); param_index < argc;
++param_index) {
printf("additional parameter: %s\n", argv[param_index]);
}
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}
Example output
foo@bar:~$ ./cargsdemo
simple_flag: 0, multiple_flag: 0, long_flag: 0, key: -
foo@bar:~$ ./cargsdemo -k=test -sm --long
simple_flag: 1, multiple_flag: 1, long_flag: 1, key: test
foo@bar:~$ ./cargsdemo --help
Usage: cargsdemo [OPTION]...
Demonstrates the cargs library.
-s Simple flag
-m, -M, -o, -O Multiple access letters
--long Long parameter name
-k, --key=VALUE Parameter value
-h, --help Shows the command help
Note that all formatting is done by cargs.
foo@bar:~$ ./cargsdemo also -k=test some -sm additional --long parameters
simple_flag: 1, multiple_flag: 1, long_flag: 1, key: test
additional parameter: also
additional parameter: some
additional parameter: additional
additional parameter: parameters