The -a to -z of Command-Line Options (2003)

Re:The -a to -z of Command-Line Options (2003) by smhenderson on Monday December 10, 2018 @12:55PM (#18649722)

I find in most modern tools whether or not -h or --help is implemented using them often yields at least a usage statement.

I'm sure it's just default "I don't recognize the option so here's how to use this tool" message but the result is the same.

There are exceptions of course, e.g. mysql uses -h for host so you just get an error message about requiring an argument. --help is implemented properly in this case though.

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Re:The -a to -z of Command-Line Options (2003) by mort96 on Monday December 10, 2018 @04:18PM (#18651242)

I usually use `-h`, because it's shorter to type than `--help`. I find I encounter this kind of message way too frequently:

    wc: invalid option -- 'h'
    Try 'wc --help' for more information.

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Re:The -a to -z of Command-Line Options (2003) by smhenderson on Tuesday December 11, 2018 @11:50AM (#18656604)

That is annoying, I actually prefer the behavior I described. If an argument is not recognized I just want a usage message so I can check my syntax quickly.

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