Package org.apache.commons.cli

Class Option

  • All Implemented Interfaces:
    java.io.Serializable, java.lang.Cloneable
    public class Option
extends java.lang.Object
implements java.lang.Cloneable, java.io.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, it's required flag may not be changed anymore.

    Version:
    $Id: Option.java 1756753 2016-08-18 10:18:43Z britter $
    See Also:
    Options, CommandLine, Serialized Form

    • Nested Class Summary

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

    • Field Summary

      Fields 
      Modifier and Type Field Description
      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

      Constructors 
      Constructor Description
      Option​(java.lang.String opt, boolean hasArg, java.lang.String description)
      Creates an Option using the specified parameters.
      Option​(java.lang.String opt, java.lang.String description)
      Creates an Option using the specified parameters.
      Option​(java.lang.String opt, java.lang.String longOpt, boolean hasArg, java.lang.String description)
      Creates an Option using the specified parameters.

    • Method Summary

      All Methods Static Methods Instance Methods Concrete Methods Deprecated Methods 
      Modifier and Type Method Description
      boolean addValue​(java.lang.String value)
      Deprecated. 
      static Option.Builder builder()
      Returns a Option.Builder to create an Option using descriptive methods.
      static Option.Builder builder​(java.lang.String opt)
      Returns a Option.Builder to create an Option using descriptive methods.
      java.lang.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​(java.lang.Object o)  
      java.lang.String getArgName()
      Gets the display name for the argument value.
      int getArgs()
      Returns the number of argument values this Option can take.
      java.lang.String getDescription()
      Retrieve the self-documenting description of this Option
      int getId()
      Returns the id of this Option.
      java.lang.String getLongOpt()
      Retrieve the long name of this Option.
      java.lang.String getOpt()
      Retrieve the name of this Option.
      java.lang.Object getType()
      Retrieve the type of this Option.
      java.lang.String getValue()
      Returns the specified value of this Option or null if there is no value.
      java.lang.String getValue​(int index)
      Returns the specified value of this Option or null if there is no value.
      java.lang.String getValue​(java.lang.String defaultValue)
      Returns the value/first value of this Option or the defaultValue if there is no value.
      java.lang.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.
      java.util.List<java.lang.String> 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 is mandatory
      void setArgName​(java.lang.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​(java.lang.String description)
      Sets the self-documenting description of this Option
      void setLongOpt​(java.lang.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​(java.lang.Class<?> type)
      Sets the type of this Option.
      void setType​(java.lang.Object type)
      Deprecated.
      since 1.3, use setType(Class) instead
      void setValueSeparator​(char sep)
      Sets the value separator.
      java.lang.String toString()
      Dump state, suitable for debugging.

      • Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

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

    • Constructor Detail

      • Option

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

      • Option

        public Option​(java.lang.String opt,
              boolean hasArg,
              java.lang.String description)
       throws java.lang.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:
        java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - if there are any non valid Option characters in opt.

      • Option

        public Option​(java.lang.String opt,
              java.lang.String longOpt,
              boolean hasArg,
              java.lang.String description)
       throws java.lang.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:
        java.lang.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

      • getType

        public java.lang.Object getType()
        Retrieve the type of this Option.
        Returns:
        The type of this option

      • setType

        @Deprecated
public void setType​(java.lang.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

      • setType

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

      • getLongOpt

        public java.lang.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​(java.lang.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 java.lang.String getDescription()
        Retrieve the self-documenting description of this Option
        Returns:
        The string description of this option

      • setDescription

        public void setDescription​(java.lang.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 is mandatory
        Returns:
        boolean flag indicating whether this Option is mandatory

      • setRequired

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

      • setArgName

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

      • getArgName

        public java.lang.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.

        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:
        UNINITIALIZED, UNLIMITED_VALUES

      • getValue

        public java.lang.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 java.lang.String getValue​(int index)
                          throws java.lang.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:
        java.lang.IndexOutOfBoundsException - if index is less than 1 or greater than the number of the values for this Option.

      • getValue

        public java.lang.String getValue​(java.lang.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 there is no value.
        Returns:
        the value/first value of this Option or the defaultValue if there are no values.

      • getValues

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

      • toString

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

      • equals

        public boolean equals​(java.lang.Object o)
        Overrides:
        equals in class java.lang.Object

      • hashCode

        public int hashCode()
        Overrides:
        hashCode in class java.lang.Object

      • clone

        public java.lang.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 java.lang.Object
        Returns:
        a clone of this Option instance
        Throws:
        java.lang.RuntimeException - if a CloneNotSupportedException has been thrown by super.clone()

      • addValue

        @Deprecated
public boolean addValue​(java.lang.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.
        Parameters:
        value - the value to add
        Returns:
        always throws an UnsupportedOperationException
        Throws:
        java.lang.UnsupportedOperationException - always

      • builder

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