Package org.apache.commons.cli

Class Option

java.lang.Object
org.apache.commons.cli.Option
All Implemented Interfaces:
Serializable, Cloneable
public class Option extends Object implements Cloneable, Serializable
Describes a single command-line option. It maintains information regarding the short-name of the option, the long-name, if any exists, a flag indicating if an argument is required for this option, and a self-documenting description of the option.

An Option is not created independently, but is created through an instance of Options. An Option is required to have at least a short or a long-name.

Note: once an Option has been added to an instance of Options, its required flag cannot be changed.

See Also:

  • Nested Class Summary

    Nested Classes
    Modifier and Type
    Class
    Description
    static final class 
    Option.Builder
    A nested builder class to create Option instances using descriptive methods.

  • Field Summary

    Fields
    Modifier and Type
    Field
    Description
    static final int
    UNINITIALIZED
    Specifies the number of argument values has not been specified
    static final int
    UNLIMITED_VALUES
    Specifies the number of argument values is infinite

  • Constructor Summary

    Constructors
    Constructor
    Description
    Option(String option, boolean hasArg, String description)
    Creates an Option using the specified parameters.
    Option(String option, String description)
    Creates an Option using the specified parameters.
    Option(String option, String longOption, boolean hasArg, String description)
    Creates an Option using the specified parameters.

  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    boolean
    addValue(String value)
    Deprecated.
    Unused.
    static Option.Builder
    builder()
    Returns a Option.Builder to create an Option using descriptive methods.
    static Option.Builder
    builder(String option)
    Returns a Option.Builder to create an Option using descriptive methods.
    Object
    clone()
    A rather odd clone method - due to incorrect code in 1.0 it is public and in 1.1 rather than throwing a CloneNotSupportedException it throws a RuntimeException so as to maintain backwards compat at the API level.
    boolean
    equals(Object obj)
     
    String
    getArgName()
    Gets the display name for the argument value.
    int
    getArgs()
    Gets the number of argument values this Option can take.
    String
    getDescription()
    Gets the self-documenting description of this Option
    int
    getId()
    Gets the id of this Option.
    String
    getLongOpt()
    Gets the long name of this Option.
    String
    getOpt()
    Gets the name of this Option.
    Object
    getType()
    Gets the type of this Option.
    String
    getValue()
    Gets the specified value of this Option or null if there is no value.
    String
    getValue(int index)
    Gets the specified value of this Option or null if there is no value.
    String
    getValue(String defaultValue)
    Gets the value/first value of this Option or the defaultValue if there is no value.
    String[]
    getValues()
    Gets the values of this Option as a String array or null if there are no values
    char
    getValueSeparator()
    Gets the value separator character.
    List<String>
    getValuesList()
    Gets the values of this Option as a List or null if there are no values.
    boolean
    hasArg()
    Query to see if this Option requires an argument
    boolean
    hasArgName()
    Returns whether the display name for the argument value has been set.
    boolean
    hasArgs()
    Query to see if this Option can take many values.
    int
    hashCode()
     
    boolean
    hasLongOpt()
    Query to see if this Option has a long name
    boolean
    hasOptionalArg()
     
    boolean
    hasValueSeparator()
    Return whether this Option has specified a value separator.
    boolean
    isRequired()
    Query to see if this Option is mandatory
    void
    setArgName(String argName)
    Sets the display name for the argument value.
    void
    setArgs(int num)
    Sets the number of argument values this Option can take.
    void
    setDescription(String description)
    Sets the self-documenting description of this Option
    void
    setLongOpt(String longOpt)
    Sets the long name of this Option.
    void
    setOptionalArg(boolean optionalArg)
    Sets whether this Option can have an optional argument.
    void
    setRequired(boolean required)
    Sets whether this Option is mandatory.
    void
    setType(Class<?> type)
    Sets the type of this Option.
    void
    setType(Object type)
    Deprecated.
    since 1.3, use setType(Class) instead
    void
    setValueSeparator(char sep)
    Sets the value separator.
    String
    toString()
    Dump state, suitable for debugging.

    Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

    finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait

  • Field Details

  • Constructor Details

    • Option

      public Option(String option, boolean hasArg, String description) throws IllegalArgumentException
      Creates an Option using the specified parameters.
      Parameters:
      option - short representation of the option
      hasArg - specifies whether the Option takes an argument or not
      description - describes the function of the option
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if there are any non valid Option characters in opt.

    • Option

      public Option(String option, String description) throws IllegalArgumentException
      Creates an Option using the specified parameters. The option does not take an argument.
      Parameters:
      option - short representation of the option
      description - describes the function of the option
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if there are any non valid Option characters in opt.

    • Option

      public Option(String option, String longOption, boolean hasArg, String description) throws IllegalArgumentException
      Creates an Option using the specified parameters.
      Parameters:
      option - short representation of the option
      longOption - the long representation of the option
      hasArg - specifies whether the Option takes an argument or not
      description - describes the function of the option
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if there are any non valid Option characters in opt.

  • Method Details

    • builder

      public static Option.Builder builder()
      Returns a Option.Builder to create an Option using descriptive methods.
      Returns:
      a new Option.Builder instance
      Since:
      1.3

    • builder

      public static Option.Builder builder(String option)
      Returns a Option.Builder to create an Option using descriptive methods.
      Parameters:
      option - short representation of the option
      Returns:
      a new Option.Builder instance
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if there are any non valid Option characters in opt
      Since:
      1.3

    • addValue

      @Deprecated public boolean addValue(String value)
      Deprecated.
      Unused.
      This method is not intended to be used. It was a piece of internal API that was made public in 1.0. It currently throws an UnsupportedOperationException.
      Parameters:
      value - the value to add
      Returns:
      always throws an UnsupportedOperationException
      Throws:
      UnsupportedOperationException - always

    • clone

      public Object clone()
      A rather odd clone method - due to incorrect code in 1.0 it is public and in 1.1 rather than throwing a CloneNotSupportedException it throws a RuntimeException so as to maintain backwards compat at the API level. After calling this method, it is very likely you will want to call clearValues().
      Overrides:
      clone in class Object
      Returns:
      a clone of this Option instance
      Throws:
      RuntimeException - if a CloneNotSupportedException has been thrown by super.clone()

    • equals

      public boolean equals(Object obj)
      Overrides:
      equals in class Object

    • getArgName

      public String getArgName()
      Gets the display name for the argument value.
      Returns:
      the display name for the argument value.

    • getArgs

      public int getArgs()
      Gets the number of argument values this Option can take.

      A value equal to the constant UNINITIALIZED (= -1) indicates the number of arguments has not been specified. A value equal to the constant UNLIMITED_VALUES (= -2) indicates that this options takes an unlimited amount of values.

      Returns:
      num the number of argument values
      See Also:

    • getDescription

      public String getDescription()
      Gets the self-documenting description of this Option
      Returns:
      The string description of this option

    • getId

      public int getId()
      Gets the id of this Option. This is only set when the Option shortOpt is a single character. This is used for switch statements.
      Returns:
      the id of this Option

    • getLongOpt

      public String getLongOpt()
      Gets the long name of this Option.
      Returns:
      Long name of this option, or null, if there is no long name

    • getOpt

      public String getOpt()
      Gets the name of this Option. It is this String which can be used with CommandLine.hasOption(String opt) and CommandLine.getOptionValue(String opt) to check for existence and argument.
      Returns:
      The name of this option

    • getType

      public Object getType()
      Gets the type of this Option.
      Returns:
      The type of this option

    • getValue

      public String getValue()
      Gets the specified value of this Option or null if there is no value.
      Returns:
      the value/first value of this Option or null if there is no value.

    • getValue

      public String getValue(int index) throws IndexOutOfBoundsException
      Gets the specified value of this Option or null if there is no value.
      Parameters:
      index - The index of the value to be returned.
      Returns:
      the specified value of this Option or null if there is no value.
      Throws:
      IndexOutOfBoundsException - if index is less than 1 or greater than the number of the values for this Option.

    • getValue

      public String getValue(String defaultValue)
      Gets the value/first value of this Option or the defaultValue if there is no value.
      Parameters:
      defaultValue - The value to be returned if there is no value.
      Returns:
      the value/first value of this Option or the defaultValue if there are no values.

    • getValues

      public String[] getValues()
      Gets the values of this Option as a String array or null if there are no values
      Returns:
      the values of this Option as a String array or null if there are no values

    • getValueSeparator

      public char getValueSeparator()
      Gets the value separator character.
      Returns:
      the value separator character.

    • getValuesList

      public List<String> getValuesList()
      Gets the values of this Option as a List or null if there are no values.
      Returns:
      the values of this Option as a List or null if there are no values

    • hasArg

      public boolean hasArg()
      Query to see if this Option requires an argument
      Returns:
      boolean flag indicating if an argument is required

    • hasArgName

      public boolean hasArgName()
      Returns whether the display name for the argument value has been set.
      Returns:
      if the display name for the argument value has been set.

    • hasArgs

      public boolean hasArgs()
      Query to see if this Option can take many values.
      Returns:
      boolean flag indicating if multiple values are allowed

    • hashCode

      public int hashCode()
      Overrides:
      hashCode in class Object

    • hasLongOpt

      public boolean hasLongOpt()
      Query to see if this Option has a long name
      Returns:
      boolean flag indicating existence of a long name

    • hasOptionalArg

      public boolean hasOptionalArg()
      Returns:
      whether this Option can have an optional argument

    • hasValueSeparator

      public boolean hasValueSeparator()
      Return whether this Option has specified a value separator.
      Returns:
      whether this Option has specified a value separator.
      Since:
      1.1

    • isRequired

      public boolean isRequired()
      Query to see if this Option is mandatory
      Returns:
      boolean flag indicating whether this Option is mandatory

    • setArgName

      public void setArgName(String argName)
      Sets the display name for the argument value.
      Parameters:
      argName - the display name for the argument value.

    • setArgs

      public void setArgs(int num)
      Sets the number of argument values this Option can take.
      Parameters:
      num - the number of argument values

    • setDescription

      public void setDescription(String description)
      Sets the self-documenting description of this Option
      Parameters:
      description - The description of this option
      Since:
      1.1

    • setLongOpt

      public void setLongOpt(String longOpt)
      Sets the long name of this Option.
      Parameters:
      longOpt - the long name of this Option

    • setOptionalArg

      public void setOptionalArg(boolean optionalArg)
      Sets whether this Option can have an optional argument.
      Parameters:
      optionalArg - specifies whether the Option can have an optional argument.

    • setRequired

      public void setRequired(boolean required)
      Sets whether this Option is mandatory.
      Parameters:
      required - specifies whether this Option is mandatory

    • setType

      public void setType(Class<?> type)
      Sets the type of this Option.
      Parameters:
      type - the type of this Option
      Since:
      1.3

    • setType

      @Deprecated public void setType(Object type)
      Deprecated.
      since 1.3, use setType(Class) instead
      Sets the type of this Option.

      Note: this method is kept for binary compatibility and the input type is supposed to be a Class object.

      Parameters:
      type - the type of this Option

    • setValueSeparator

      public void setValueSeparator(char sep)
      Sets the value separator. For example if the argument value was a Java property, the value separator would be '='.
      Parameters:
      sep - The value separator.

    • toString

      public String toString()
      Dump state, suitable for debugging.
      Overrides:
      toString in class Object
      Returns:
      Stringified form of this object