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Path: utzoo!decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!think!harvard!seismo!ut-sally!jsq
From: jsq@ut-sally.UUCP (John Quarterman)
Newsgroups: mod.std.unix
Subject: command line arguments
Message-ID: <2210@ut-sally.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 28-Jun-85 11:58:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: ut-sally.2210
Posted: Fri Jun 28 11:58:07 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 29-Jun-85 07:11:59 EDT
Organization: U. Texas CS Dept., Austin, Texas
Lines: 29
Approved: jsq@ut-sally.UUCP
Posted-Date: Thu, 27 Jun 85 18:08:26 bst
In-Reply-To: <2189@ut-sally.UUCP>

some commands take arguments as

command -abcdefg filename

and some as

command -a -b -c -d -e -f -g filename

It would be great if this was standardised.
Post this if you like: it's gleaned from a book 'Unix for beginners' by
Miller and Boyle at the University of Leeds, UK
-- 
 'He had a certain naive charm, but no muscle!'
                     Frank N. Furter in the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

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[ The P1003 draft standard has little to say about commands, as it's
mostly concerned with system calls and library routines.  Varying option
formats are a nuisance, though.  -mod]
-- 

John Quarterman, jsq@ut-sally.ARPA, {ihnp4,seismo,ctvax}!ut-sally!jsq