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 independantly, but is create through an instance of Options.

Version:

$Revision: 680644 $, $Date: 2008-07-29 01:13:48 -0700 (Tue, 29 Jul 2008) $

Author:

bob mcwhirter (bob @ werken.com), James Strachan

See Also:

Options, CommandLine, Serialized Form

Field Summary

static int	UNINITIALIZED constant that specifies the number of argument values has not been specified
static int	UNLIMITED_VALUES constant that specifies the number of argument values is infinite

Constructor Summary

Option(String opt, boolean hasArg, String description)
Creates an Option using the specified parameters.

Option(String opt, String description)
Creates an Option using the specified parameters.

Option(String opt, String longOpt, boolean hasArg, String description)
Creates an Option using the specified parameters.

Method Summary

boolean	addValue(String value) Deprecated.
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 o)
String	getArgName() Gets the display name for the argument value.
int	getArgs() Returns the number of argument values this Option can take.
String	getDescription() Retrieve the self-documenting description of this Option
int	getId() Returns the id of this Option.
String	getLongOpt() Retrieve the long name of this Option.
String	getOpt() Retrieve the name of this Option.
Object	getType() Retrieve the type of this Option.
String	getValue() Returns the specified value of this Option or null if there is no value.
String	getValue(int index) Returns the specified value of this Option or null if there is no value.
String	getValue(String defaultValue) Returns the value/first value of this Option or the defaultValue if there is no value.
String[]	getValues() Return the values of this Option as a String array or null if there are no values
char	getValueSeparator() Returns the value separator character.
List	getValuesList()
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 requires an argument
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(Object type) Sets the type of this Option.
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 Detail

UNINITIALIZED

public static final int UNINITIALIZED

constant that specifies the number of argument values has not been specified

See Also:

Constant Field Values

UNLIMITED_VALUES

public static final int UNLIMITED_VALUES

constant that specifies the number of argument values is infinite

See Also:

Constant Field Values

Constructor Detail

Option

public Option(String opt,
              String description)
       throws IllegalArgumentException

Creates an Option using the specified parameters.

Parameters:

opt - 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 opt,
              boolean hasArg,
              String description)
       throws IllegalArgumentException

Creates an Option using the specified parameters.

Parameters:

opt - 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 opt,
              String longOpt,
              boolean hasArg,
              String description)
       throws IllegalArgumentException

Creates an Option using the specified parameters.

Parameters:

opt - short representation of the option

longOpt - 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 Detail

getId

public int getId()

Returns 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

getOpt

public String getOpt()

Retrieve 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()

Retrieve the type of this Option.

Returns:

The type of this option

setType

public void setType(Object type)

Sets the type of this Option.

Parameters:

type - the type of this Option

getLongOpt

public String getLongOpt()

Retrieve the long name of this Option.

Returns:

Long name of this option, or null, if there is no long name

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.

hasOptionalArg

public boolean hasOptionalArg()

Returns:

whether this Option can have an optional argument

hasLongOpt

public boolean hasLongOpt()

Query to see if this Option has a long name

Returns:

boolean flag indicating existence of a long name

hasArg

public boolean hasArg()

Query to see if this Option requires an argument

Returns:

boolean flag indicating if an argument is required

getDescription

public String getDescription()

Retrieve the self-documenting description of this Option

Returns:

The string description of this option

setDescription

public void setDescription(String description)

Sets the self-documenting description of this Option

Parameters:

description - The description of this option

Since:

1.1

isRequired

public boolean isRequired()

Query to see if this Option requires an argument

Returns:

boolean flag indicating if an argument is required

setRequired

public void setRequired(boolean required)

Sets whether this Option is mandatory.

Parameters:

required - specifies 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.

getArgName

public String getArgName()

Gets the display name for the argument value.

Returns:

the display name for the argument value.

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

setArgs

public void setArgs(int num)

Sets the number of argument values this Option can take.

Parameters:

num - the number of argument values

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.

getValueSeparator

public char getValueSeparator()

Returns the value separator character.

Returns:

the value separator character.

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

getArgs

public int getArgs()

Returns the number of argument values this Option can take.

Returns:

num the number of argument values

getValue

public String getValue()

Returns 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

Returns 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)

Returns the value/first value of this Option or the defaultValue if there is no value.

Parameters:

defaultValue - The value to be returned if ther is no value.

Returns:

the value/first value of this Option or the defaultValue if there are no values.

getValues

public String[] getValues()

Return 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

getValuesList

public List getValuesList()

Returns:

the values of this Option as a List or null if there are no values

toString

public String toString()

Dump state, suitable for debugging.

Overrides:

toString in class Object

Returns:

Stringified form of this object

equals

public boolean equals(Object o)

Overrides:

equals in class Object

hashCode

public int hashCode()

Overrides:

hashCode in class Object

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

Throws:

RuntimeException

addValue

public boolean addValue(String value)

Deprecated.

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.

Throws:

UnsupportedOperationException