Option (Commons CLI2 2.0-SNAPSHOT API)

All Known Subinterfaces:

Argument, Group, Parent

All Known Implementing Classes:

ArgumentImpl, Command, DefaultOption, GroupImpl, OptionImpl, ParentImpl, PropertyOption, SourceDestArgument, Switch
```
public interface Option
```
The super type of all options representing a particular element of the command line interface.

Method Summary

Methods
Modifier and Type	Method and Description
`void`	`appendUsage(StringBuffer buffer, Set helpSettings, Comparator comp)` Appends usage information to the specified StringBuffer
`boolean`	`canProcess(WriteableCommandLine commandLine, ListIterator arguments)` Indicates whether this Option will be able to process the particular argument.
`boolean`	`canProcess(WriteableCommandLine commandLine, String argument)` Indicates whether this Option will be able to process the particular argument.
`void`	`defaults(WriteableCommandLine commandLine)` Adds defaults to a CommandLine.
`Option`	`findOption(String trigger)` Recursively searches for an option with the supplied trigger.
`String`	`getDescription()` Returns a description of the option.
`int`	`getId()` Returns the id of the option.
`Option`	`getParent()` Returns the parent of this option.
`String`	`getPreferredName()` The preferred name of an option is used for generating help and usage information.
`Set`	`getPrefixes()` Identifies the argument prefixes that should be considered options.
`Set`	`getTriggers()` Identifies the argument prefixes that should trigger this option.
`List`	`helpLines(int depth, Set helpSettings, Comparator comp)` Builds up a list of HelpLineImpl instances to be presented by HelpFormatter.
`boolean`	`isRequired()` Indicates whether this option is required to be present.
`void`	`process(WriteableCommandLine commandLine, ListIterator args)` Processes String arguments into a CommandLine.
`void`	`setParent(Option parent)` Sets the parent of this option.
`void`	`validate(WriteableCommandLine commandLine)` Checks that the supplied CommandLine is valid with respect to this option.

- Method Detail
  - process
```
void process(WriteableCommandLine commandLine,
           ListIterator args)
             throws OptionException
```
    Processes String arguments into a CommandLine. The iterator will initially point at the first argument to be processed and at the end of the method should point to the first argument not processed. This method MUST process at least one argument from the ListIterator.
    
    Parameters:
    commandLine - The CommandLine object to store results in
    args - The arguments to process
    
    Throws:
    
    OptionException - if any problems occur
  - defaults
```
void defaults(WriteableCommandLine commandLine)
```
    Adds defaults to a CommandLine. Any defaults for this option are applied as well as the defaults for any contained options
    
    Parameters:
    commandLine - The CommandLine object to store defaults in
  - canProcess
```
boolean canProcess(WriteableCommandLine commandLine,
                 String argument)
```
    Indicates whether this Option will be able to process the particular argument.
    
    Parameters:
    commandLine - The CommandLine to check
    argument - The argument to be tested
    
    Returns:
    true if the argument can be processed by this Option
  - canProcess
```
boolean canProcess(WriteableCommandLine commandLine,
                 ListIterator arguments)
```
    Indicates whether this Option will be able to process the particular argument. The ListIterator must be restored to the initial state before returning the boolean.
    
    Parameters:
    commandLine - the CommandLine to check
    arguments - the ListIterator over String arguments
    
    Returns:
    true if the argument can be processed by this Option
    See Also:
    canProcess(WriteableCommandLine,String)
  - getTriggers
```
Set getTriggers()
```
    Identifies the argument prefixes that should trigger this option. This is used to decide which of many Options should be tried when processing a given argument string. The returned Set must not be null.
    
    Returns:
    The set of triggers for this Option
  - getPrefixes
```
Set getPrefixes()
```
    Identifies the argument prefixes that should be considered options. This is used to identify whether a given string looks like an option or an argument value. Typically an option would return the set [--,-] while switches might offer [-,+]. The returned Set must not be null.
    
    Returns:
    The set of prefixes for this Option
  - validate
```
void validate(WriteableCommandLine commandLine)
              throws OptionException
```
    Checks that the supplied CommandLine is valid with respect to this option.
    
    Parameters:
    commandLine - The CommandLine to check.
    
    Throws:
    
    OptionException - if the CommandLine is not valid.
  - helpLines
```
List helpLines(int depth,
             Set helpSettings,
             Comparator comp)
```
    Builds up a list of HelpLineImpl instances to be presented by HelpFormatter.
    
    Parameters:
    depth - the initial indent depth
    helpSettings - the HelpSettings that should be applied
    comp - a comparator used to sort options when applicable.
    
    Returns:
    a List of HelpLineImpl objects
    See Also:
    HelpLine, HelpFormatter
  - appendUsage
```
void appendUsage(StringBuffer buffer,
               Set helpSettings,
               Comparator comp)
```
    Appends usage information to the specified StringBuffer
    
    Parameters:
    buffer - the buffer to append to
    helpSettings - a set of display settings @see DisplaySetting
    comp - a comparator used to sort the Options
  - getPreferredName
```
String getPreferredName()
```
    The preferred name of an option is used for generating help and usage information.
    
    Returns:
    The preferred name of the option
  - getDescription
```
String getDescription()
```
    Returns a description of the option. This string is used to build help messages as in the HelpFormatter.
    
    Returns:
    a description of the option.
    See Also:
    HelpFormatter
  - getId
```
int getId()
```
    Returns the id of the option. This can be used in a loop and switch construct: for(Option o : cmd.getOptions()){ switch(o.getId()){ case POTENTIAL_OPTION: ... } } The returned value is not guarenteed to be unique.
    
    Returns:
    the id of the option.
  - findOption
```
Option findOption(String trigger)
```
    Recursively searches for an option with the supplied trigger.
    
    Parameters:
    trigger - the trigger to search for.
    
    Returns:
    the matching option or null.
  - isRequired
```
boolean isRequired()
```
    Indicates whether this option is required to be present.
    
    Returns:
    true iff the CommandLine will be invalid without this Option
  - getParent
```
Option getParent()
```
    Returns the parent of this option. Options can be organized in a hierarchical manner if they are added to groups. This method can be used for obtaining the parent option of this option. The result may be null if this option does not have a parent.
    
    Returns:
    the parent of this option
  - setParent
```
void setParent(Option parent)
```
    Sets the parent of this option. This method is called when the option is added to a group. Storing the parent of an option makes it possible to keep track of hierarchical relations between options. For instance, if an option is identified while parsing a command line, the group this option belongs to can also be added to the command line.
    
    Parameters:
    parent - the parent option

Interface Option

Method Summary

Method Detail

process

defaults

canProcess

canProcess

getTriggers

getPrefixes

validate

helpLines

appendUsage

getPreferredName

getDescription

getId

findOption

isRequired

getParent

setParent