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1%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
2%% Name: cmdlpars.tex
3%% Purpose: wxCmdLineParser documentation
4%% Author: Vadim Zeitlin
5%% Modified by:
6%% Created: 27.03.00
7%% RCS-ID: $Id$
8%% Copyright: (c) Vadim Zeitlin
8795498c 9%% License: wxWindows license
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10%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
11
12\section{\class{wxCmdLineParser}}\label{wxcmdlineparser}
13
dceb1c09 14wxCmdLineParser is a class for parsing the command line.
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15
16It has the following features:
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17
18\begin{enumerate}\itemsep=0pt
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19\item distinguishes options, switches and parameters; allows option grouping
20\item allows both short and long options
21\item automatically generates the usage message from the command line description
22\item does type checks on the options values (number, date, $\ldots$).
23\end{enumerate}
24
25To use it you should follow these steps:
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26
27\begin{enumerate}\itemsep=0pt
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28\item \helpref{construct}{wxcmdlineparserconstruction} an object of this class
29giving it the command line to parse and optionally its description or use
30{\tt AddXXX()} functions later
31\item call {\tt Parse()}
32\item use {\tt Found()} to retrieve the results
33\end{enumerate}
34
35In the documentation below the following terminology is used:
36
37\begin{twocollist}\itemsep=0pt
38\twocolitem{switch}{This is a boolean option which can be given or not, but
39which doesn't have any value. We use the word switch to distinguish such boolean
40options from more generic options like those described below. For example,
41{\tt -v} might be a switch meaning "enable verbose mode".}
42\twocolitem{option}{Option for us here is something which comes with a value 0
43unlike a switch. For example, {\tt -o:filename} might be an option which allows
44to specify the name of the output file.}
45\twocolitem{parameter}{This is a required program argument.}
46\end{twocollist}
47
48\wxheading{Derived from}
49
50No base class
51
52\wxheading{Include files}
53
54<wx/cmdline.h>
55
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56\wxheading{Library}
57
58\helpref{wxBase}{librarieslist}
59
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60\wxheading{Constants}
61
62The structure wxCmdLineEntryDesc is used to describe the one command
63line switch, option or parameter. An array of such structures should be passed
64to \helpref{SetDesc()}{wxcmdlineparsersetdesc}. Also, the meanings of parameters
65of the {\tt AddXXX()} functions are the same as of the corresponding fields in
66this structure:
67
68\begin{verbatim}
69struct wxCmdLineEntryDesc
70{
71 wxCmdLineEntryType kind;
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72 wxString shortName;
73 wxString longName;
a0fef35d 74 wxString description;
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75 wxCmdLineParamType type;
76 int flags;
77};
78\end{verbatim}
79
80The type of a command line entity is in the {\tt kind} field and may be one of
81the following constants:
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82
83{\small%
84\begin{verbatim}
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85enum wxCmdLineEntryType
86{
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87 wxCMD_LINE_SWITCH,
88 wxCMD_LINE_OPTION,
89 wxCMD_LINE_PARAM,
90 wxCMD_LINE_NONE // use this to terminate the list
f6bcfd97 91}
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92\end{verbatim}
93}
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94
95The field {\tt shortName} is the usual, short, name of the switch or the option.
42599b71 96{\tt longName} is the corresponding long name or empty if the option has no long
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97name. Both of these fields are unused for the parameters. Both the short and
98long option names can contain only letters, digits and the underscores.
99
100{\tt description} is used by the \helpref{Usage()}{wxcmdlineparserusage} method
101to construct a help message explaining the syntax of the program.
102
103The possible values of {\tt type} which specifies the type of the value accepted
104by an option or parameter are:
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105
106{\small%
107\begin{verbatim}
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108enum wxCmdLineParamType
109{
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110 wxCMD_LINE_VAL_STRING, // default
111 wxCMD_LINE_VAL_NUMBER,
112 wxCMD_LINE_VAL_DATE,
113 wxCMD_LINE_VAL_NONE
f6bcfd97 114}
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115\end{verbatim}
116}
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117
118Finally, the {\tt flags} field is a combination of the following bit masks:
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119
120{\small%
121\begin{verbatim}
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122enum
123{
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124 wxCMD_LINE_OPTION_MANDATORY = 0x01, // this option must be given
125 wxCMD_LINE_PARAM_OPTIONAL = 0x02, // the parameter may be omitted
126 wxCMD_LINE_PARAM_MULTIPLE = 0x04, // the parameter may be repeated
127 wxCMD_LINE_OPTION_HELP = 0x08, // this option is a help request
128 wxCMD_LINE_NEEDS_SEPARATOR = 0x10, // must have sep before the value
f6bcfd97 129}
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130\end{verbatim}
131}
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132
133Notice that by default (i.e. if flags are just $0$), options are optional (sic)
134and each call to \helpref{AddParam()}{wxcmdlineparseraddparam} allows one more
135parameter - this may be changed by giving non-default flags to it, i.e. use
136{\tt wxCMD\_LINE\_OPTION\_MANDATORY} to require that the option is given and
137{\tt wxCMD\_LINE\_PARAM\_OPTIONAL} to make a parameter optional. Also,
138{\tt wxCMD\_LINE\_PARAM\_MULTIPLE} may be specified if the programs accepts a
139variable number of parameters - but it only can be given for the last parameter
140in the command line description. If you use this flag, you will probably need to
141use \helpref{GetParamCount}{wxcmdlineparsergetparamcount} to retrieve the number
142of parameters effectively specified after calling
143\helpref{Parse}{wxcmdlineparserparse}.
144
145The last flag {\tt wxCMD\_LINE\_NEEDS\_SEPARATOR} can be specified to require a
146separator (either a colon, an equal sign or white space) between the option
147name and its value. By default, no separator is required.
148
149\wxheading{See also}
150
151\helpref{wxApp::argc}{wxappargc} and \helpref{wxApp::argv}{wxappargv}\\
152console sample
153
154%%%%%%%%%%%%% Methods by group %%%%%%%%%%%%%
155\latexignore{\rtfignore{\wxheading{Function groups}}}
156
ff1ce997 157
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158\membersection{Construction}\label{wxcmdlineparserconstruction}
159
160Before \helpref{Parse}{wxcmdlineparserparse} can be called, the command line
161parser object must have the command line to parse and also the rules saying
162which switches, options and parameters are valid - this is called command line
163description in what follows.
164
165You have complete freedom of choice as to when specify the required information,
166the only restriction is that it must be done before calling
167\helpref{Parse}{wxcmdlineparserparse}.
168
169To specify the command line to parse you may use either one of constructors
fb06f271 170accepting it (\tt{wxCmdLineParser(argc, argv)} or \tt{wxCmdLineParser(const wxString&)} usually)
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171or, if you use the default constructor, you can do it later by calling
172\helpref{SetCmdLine}{wxcmdlineparsersetcmdline}.
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173
174The same holds for command line description: it can be specified either in
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175the \helpref{constructor}{wxcmdlineparserwxcmdlineparserctor} (with or without
176the command line itself) or constructed later using either
177\helpref{SetDesc}{wxcmdlineparsersetdesc} or combination of
178\helpref{AddSwitch}{wxcmdlineparseraddswitch},
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179\helpref{AddOption}{wxcmdlineparseraddoption} and
180\helpref{AddParam}{wxcmdlineparseraddparam} methods.
181
182Using constructors or \helpref{SetDesc}{wxcmdlineparsersetdesc} uses a (usually
183{\tt const static}) table containing the command line description. If you want
2edb0bde 184to decide which options to accept during the run-time, using one of the
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185{\tt AddXXX()} functions above might be preferable.
186
ff1ce997 187
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188\membersection{Customization}\label{wxcmdlineparsercustomization}
189
190wxCmdLineParser has several global options which may be changed by the
191application. All of the functions described in this section should be called
192before \helpref{Parse}{wxcmdlineparserparse}.
193
194First global option is the support for long (also known as GNU-style) options.
195The long options are the ones which start with two dashes ({\tt "--"}) and look
196like this: {\tt --verbose}, i.e. they generally are complete words and not some
197abbreviations of them. As long options are used by more and more applications,
198they are enabled by default, but may be disabled with
199\helpref{DisableLongOptions}{wxcmdlineparserdisablelongoptions}.
200
201Another global option is the set of characters which may be used to start an
202option (otherwise, the word on the command line is assumed to be a parameter).
203Under Unix, {\tt '-'} is always used, but Windows has at least two common
204choices for this: {\tt '-'} and {\tt '/'}. Some programs also use {\tt '+'}.
205The default is to use what suits most the current platform, but may be changed
206with \helpref{SetSwitchChars}{wxcmdlineparsersetswitchchars} method.
207
208Finally, \helpref{SetLogo}{wxcmdlineparsersetlogo} can be used to show some
209application-specific text before the explanation given by
210\helpref{Usage}{wxcmdlineparserusage} function.
211
ff1ce997 212
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213\membersection{Parsing command line}\label{wxcmdlineparserparsing}
214
97d59046 215After the command line description was constructed and the desired options were
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216set, you can finally call \helpref{Parse}{wxcmdlineparserparse} method.
217It returns $0$ if the command line was correct and was parsed, $-1$ if the help
218option was specified (this is a separate case as, normally, the program will
219terminate after this) or a positive number if there was an error during the
220command line parsing.
221
222In the latter case, the appropriate error message and usage information are
fc2171bd 223logged by wxCmdLineParser itself using the standard wxWidgets logging functions.
f6bcfd97 224
ff1ce997 225
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226\membersection{Getting results}\label{wxcmdlineparsergettingresults}
227
228After calling \helpref{Parse}{wxcmdlineparserparse} (and if it returned $0$),
229you may access the results of parsing using one of overloaded {\tt Found()}
230methods.
231
232For a simple switch, you will simply call
a9c95884 233\helpref{Found}{wxcmdlineparserfound} to determine if the switch was given
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234or not, for an option or a parameter, you will call a version of {\tt Found()}
235which also returns the associated value in the provided variable. All
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236{\tt Found()} functions return true if the switch or option were found in the
237command line or false if they were not specified.
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238
239%%%%%%%%%%%%% Methods in alphabetic order %%%%%%%%%%%%%
240\helponly{\insertatlevel{2}{
241
242\wxheading{Members}
243
244}}
245
ff1ce997 246
809e21b5 247\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::wxCmdLineParser}\label{wxcmdlineparserwxcmdlineparserctor}
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248
249\func{}{wxCmdLineParser}{\void}
250
251Default constructor. You must use
a9c95884 252\helpref{SetCmdLine}{wxcmdlineparsersetcmdline} later.
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253
254\func{}{wxCmdLineParser}{\param{int }{argc}, \param{char** }{argv}}
255
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256\func{}{wxCmdLineParser}{\param{int }{argc}, \param{wchar\_t** }{argv}}
257
a9c95884 258Constructors which specify the command line to parse. This is the traditional
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259(Unix) command line format. The parameters {\it argc} and {\it argv} have the
260same meaning as for {\tt main()} function.
261
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262The second overloaded constructor is only available in Unicode build. The
263first one is available in both ANSI and Unicode modes because under some
264platforms the command line arguments are passed as ASCII strings even to
265Unicode programs.
266
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267\func{}{wxCmdLineParser}{\param{const wxString\& }{cmdline}}
268
a9c95884 269Constructor which specify the command line to parse in Windows format. The parameter
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270{\it cmdline} has the same meaning as the corresponding parameter of
271{\tt WinMain()}.
272
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273\func{}{wxCmdLineParser}{\param{const wxCmdLineEntryDesc* }{desc}}
274
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275Specifies the \helpref{command line description}{wxcmdlineparsersetdesc} but not the
276command line. You must use \helpref{SetCmdLine}{wxcmdlineparsersetcmdline} later.
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277
278\func{}{wxCmdLineParser}{\param{const wxCmdLineEntryDesc* }{desc}, \param{int }{argc}, \param{char** }{argv}}
279
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280Specifies both the command line (in Unix format) and the
281\helpref{command line description}{wxcmdlineparsersetdesc}.
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282
283\func{}{wxCmdLineParser}{\param{const wxCmdLineEntryDesc* }{desc}, \param{const wxString\& }{cmdline}}
284
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285Specifies both the command line (in Windows format) and the
286\helpref{command line description}{wxcmdlineparsersetdesc}.
ff1ce997 287
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288\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::ConvertStringToArgs}\label{wxcmdlineparserconvertstringtoargs}
289
290\func{static wxArrayString}{ConvertStringToArgs}{\param{const wxChar }{*cmdline}}
291
292Breaks down the string containing the full command line in words. The words are
293separated by whitespace. The quotes can be used in the input string to quote
294the white space and the back slashes can be used to quote the quotes.
295
ff1ce997 296
a9c95884 297\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::SetCmdLine}\label{wxcmdlineparsersetcmdline}
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298
299\func{void}{SetCmdLine}{\param{int }{argc}, \param{char** }{argv}}
300
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301\func{void}{SetCmdLine}{\param{int }{argc}, \param{wchar\_t** }{argv}}
302
f6bcfd97 303Set command line to parse after using one of the constructors which don't do it.
ff1ce997 304The second overload of this function is only available in Unicode build.
f6bcfd97 305
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306\func{void}{SetCmdLine}{\param{const wxString\& }{cmdline}}
307
308Set command line to parse after using one of the constructors which don't do it.
309
f6bcfd97 310
ff1ce997 311
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312\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::\destruct{wxCmdLineParser}}\label{wxcmdlineparserdtor}
313
314\func{}{\destruct{wxCmdLineParser}}{\void}
315
316Frees resources allocated by the object.
317
318{\bf NB:} destructor is not virtual, don't use this class polymorphically.
319
ff1ce997 320
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321\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::SetSwitchChars}\label{wxcmdlineparsersetswitchchars}
322
323\func{void}{SetSwitchChars}{\param{const wxString\& }{switchChars}}
324
325{\it switchChars} contains all characters with which an option or switch may
326start. Default is {\tt "-"} for Unix, {\tt "-/"} for Windows.
327
ff1ce997 328
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329\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::EnableLongOptions}\label{wxcmdlineparserenablelongoptions}
330
cc81d32f 331\func{void}{EnableLongOptions}{\param{bool }{enable = true}}
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332
333Enable or disable support for the long options.
334
335As long options are not (yet) POSIX-compliant, this option allows to disable
336them.
337
338\wxheading{See also}
339
250b589f 340\helpref{Customization}{wxcmdlineparsercustomization} and \helpref{AreLongOptionsEnabled}{wxcmdlineparserarelongoptionsenabled}
f6bcfd97 341
ff1ce997 342
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343\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::DisableLongOptions}\label{wxcmdlineparserdisablelongoptions}
344
345\func{void}{DisableLongOptions}{\void}
346
cc81d32f 347Identical to \helpref{EnableLongOptions(false)}{wxcmdlineparserenablelongoptions}.
250b589f 348
ff1ce997 349
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350\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::AreLongOptionsEnabled}\label{wxcmdlineparserarelongoptionsenabled}
351
352\func{bool}{AreLongOptionsEnabled}{\void}
353
cc81d32f 354Returns true if long options are enabled, otherwise false.
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355
356\wxheading{See also}
357
358\helpref{EnableLongOptions}{wxcmdlineparserenablelongoptions}
f6bcfd97 359
ff1ce997 360
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361\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::SetLogo}\label{wxcmdlineparsersetlogo}
362
363\func{void}{SetLogo}{\param{const wxString\& }{logo}}
364
365{\it logo} is some extra text which will be shown by
366\helpref{Usage}{wxcmdlineparserusage} method.
367
ff1ce997 368
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369\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::SetDesc}\label{wxcmdlineparsersetdesc}
370
371\func{void}{SetDesc}{\param{const wxCmdLineEntryDesc* }{desc}}
372
373Construct the command line description
374
375Take the command line description from the wxCMD\_LINE\_NONE terminated table.
376
377Example of usage:
378
379\begin{verbatim}
380static const wxCmdLineEntryDesc cmdLineDesc[] =
381{
382 { wxCMD_LINE_SWITCH, "v", "verbose", "be verbose" },
383 { wxCMD_LINE_SWITCH, "q", "quiet", "be quiet" },
384
385 { wxCMD_LINE_OPTION, "o", "output", "output file" },
386 { wxCMD_LINE_OPTION, "i", "input", "input dir" },
387 { wxCMD_LINE_OPTION, "s", "size", "output block size", wxCMD_LINE_VAL_NUMBER },
388 { wxCMD_LINE_OPTION, "d", "date", "output file date", wxCMD_LINE_VAL_DATE },
389
390 { wxCMD_LINE_PARAM, NULL, NULL, "input file", wxCMD_LINE_VAL_STRING, wxCMD_LINE_PARAM_MULTIPLE },
391
392 { wxCMD_LINE_NONE }
393};
394
395wxCmdLineParser parser;
396
397parser.SetDesc(cmdLineDesc);
398\end{verbatim}
399
ff1ce997 400
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401\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::AddSwitch}\label{wxcmdlineparseraddswitch}
402
403\func{void}{AddSwitch}{\param{const wxString\& }{name}, \param{const wxString\& }{lng = wxEmptyString}, \param{const wxString\& }{desc = wxEmptyString}, \param{int }{flags = 0}}
404
405Add a switch {\it name} with an optional long name {\it lng} (no long name if it
406is empty, which is default), description {\it desc} and flags {\it flags} to the
407command line description.
408
ff1ce997 409
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410\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::AddOption}\label{wxcmdlineparseraddoption}
411
412\func{void}{AddOption}{\param{const wxString\& }{name}, \param{const wxString\& }{lng = wxEmptyString}, \param{const wxString\& }{desc = wxEmptyString}, \param{wxCmdLineParamType }{type = wxCMD\_LINE\_VAL\_STRING}, \param{int }{flags = 0}}
413
414Add an option {\it name} with an optional long name {\it lng} (no long name if
415it is empty, which is default) taking a value of the given type (string by
416default) to the command line description.
417
ff1ce997 418
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419\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::AddParam}\label{wxcmdlineparseraddparam}
420
421\func{void}{AddParam}{\param{const wxString\& }{desc = wxEmptyString}, \param{wxCmdLineParamType }{type = wxCMD\_LINE\_VAL\_STRING}, \param{int }{flags = 0}}
422
423Add a parameter of the given {\it type} to the command line description.
424
ff1ce997 425
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426\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::Parse}\label{wxcmdlineparserparse}
427
cc81d32f 428\func{int}{Parse}{\param{bool }{giveUsage = {\tt true}}}
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429
430Parse the command line, return $0$ if ok, $-1$ if {\tt "-h"} or {\tt "--help"}
431option was encountered and the help message was given or a positive value if a
43e8916f 432syntax error occurred.
f6bcfd97 433
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434\wxheading{Parameters}
435
cc81d32f 436\docparam{giveUsage}{If {\tt true} (default), the usage message is given if a
be03c0ec 437syntax error was encountered while parsing the command line or if help was
cc81d32f 438requested. If {\tt false}, only error messages about possible syntax errors
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439are given, use \helpref{Usage}{wxcmdlineparserusage} to show the usage message
440from the caller if needed.}
441
ff1ce997 442
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443\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::Usage}\label{wxcmdlineparserusage}
444
445\func{void}{Usage}{\void}
446
447Give the standard usage message describing all program options. It will use the
448options and parameters descriptions specified earlier, so the resulting message
449will not be helpful to the user unless the descriptions were indeed specified.
450
451\wxheading{See also}
452
453\helpref{SetLogo}{wxcmdlineparsersetlogo}
454
ff1ce997 455
a9c95884 456\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::Found}\label{wxcmdlineparserfound}
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457
458\constfunc{bool}{Found}{\param{const wxString\& }{name}}
459
a9c95884 460Returns \true if the given switch was found, false otherwise.
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461
462\constfunc{bool}{Found}{\param{const wxString\& }{name}, \param{wxString* }{value}}
463
a9c95884 464Returns \true if an option taking a string value was found and stores the
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465value in the provided pointer (which should not be NULL).
466
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467\constfunc{bool}{Found}{\param{const wxString\& }{name}, \param{long* }{value}}
468
a9c95884 469Returns \true if an option taking an integer value was found and stores
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470the value in the provided pointer (which should not be NULL).
471
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472\constfunc{bool}{Found}{\param{const wxString\& }{name}, \param{wxDateTime* }{value}}
473
a9c95884 474Returns \true if an option taking a date value was found and stores the
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475value in the provided pointer (which should not be NULL).
476
ff1ce997 477
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478\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::GetParamCount}\label{wxcmdlineparsergetparamcount}
479
480\constfunc{size\_t}{GetParamCount}{\void}
481
482Returns the number of parameters found. This function makes sense mostly if you
483had used {\tt wxCMD\_LINE\_PARAM\_MULTIPLE} flag.
484
ff1ce997 485
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486\membersection{wxCmdLineParser::GetParam}\label{wxcmdlineparsergetparam}
487
488\constfunc{wxString}{GetParam}{\param{size\_t }{n = 0u}}
489
a9c95884 490Returns the value of Nth parameter (as string only).
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491
492\wxheading{See also}
493
494\helpref{GetParamCount}{wxcmdlineparsergetparamcount}
495