Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!rutgers!iuvax!pur-ee!uiucdcs!uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!ccvaxa!aglew
From: aglew@ccvaxa.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Command interfaces
Message-ID: <57900005@ccvaxa>
Date: 14 Dec 87 00:24:00 GMT
References: <432@cresswell.quintus.UUCP>
Lines: 16
Nf-ID: #R:cresswell.quintus.UUCP:432:ccvaxa:57900005:000:759
Nf-From: ccvaxa.UUCP!aglew    Dec 13 18:24:00 1987


..> Henry Spencer on getopt():
>Why don't people use getopt
>more?  Because the interface to getopt is a little complicated and it is
>hard to get it right when you are typing a program in from scratch.  (For
>some discussion about why this is the wrong way to program, and how to
>avoid it, come to the Dallas Usenix and listen to my talk!)

Another reason not to use getopt: because it requires information to
be put in two places. You have to have a string containing your option
letters, and a case for the actual option. Bad design.
	Still, many thanks to Henry for the PD version.

Actually, I'm a little relieved to hear Henry say that getopt is not
used as often as it should be. I don't particularly like getopt,
but feel guilty when I don't use it.