From owner-freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG  Mon Sep 27 05:14:36 2010
Return-Path: <owner-freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG>
Delivered-To: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org
Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34])
	by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id A603C106566C;
	Mon, 27 Sep 2010 05:14:36 +0000 (UTC)
	(envelope-from perryh@pluto.rain.com)
Received: from agora.rdrop.com (agora.rdrop.com [IPv6:2607:f678:1010::34])
	by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 8638D8FC16;
	Mon, 27 Sep 2010 05:14:36 +0000 (UTC)
Received: from agora.rdrop.com (66@localhost [127.0.0.1])
	by agora.rdrop.com (8.13.1/8.12.7) with ESMTP id o8R5EZZm047930
	(version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA bits=256 verify=NOT);
	Sun, 26 Sep 2010 22:14:35 -0700 (PDT)
	(envelope-from perryh@pluto.rain.com)
Received: (from uucp@localhost)
	by agora.rdrop.com (8.13.1/8.12.9/Submit) with UUCP id o8R5EZZD047929; 
	Sun, 26 Sep 2010 22:14:35 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from fbsd61 by pluto.rain.com (4.1/SMI-4.1-pluto-M2060407)
	id AA20362; Sun, 26 Sep 10 22:08:46 PDT
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 22:08:46 -0700
From: perryh@pluto.rain.com
To: arundel@freebsd.org
Message-Id: <4ca026de.pOkFIzh1Wymrvuow%perryh@pluto.rain.com>
References: <20100927012936.GA32352@freebsd.org>
In-Reply-To: <20100927012936.GA32352@freebsd.org>
User-Agent: nail 11.25 7/29/05
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Cc: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org
Subject: Re: adding a new lib for more advanced argument parsing
X-BeenThere: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5
Precedence: list
List-Id: Technical Discussions relating to FreeBSD
	<freebsd-hackers.freebsd.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-hackers>, 
	<mailto:freebsd-hackers-request@freebsd.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-hackers>
List-Post: <mailto:freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org>
List-Help: <mailto:freebsd-hackers-request@freebsd.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-hackers>,
	<mailto:freebsd-hackers-request@freebsd.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 05:14:36 -0000

Alexander Best <arundel@freebsd.org> wrote:

> ... getopt(3) is clearly not suitable for handling such complex
> options.  camcontrol.c even contains a whole paragraph about why
> getopt(3) is considered not appropriate to handle camcontrol's
> argument parsing requirements ...

> why not do a vendor import of popt 1.16 e.g.? are there license
> restrictions?

AFAIK it is GPL; it was used in Red Hat Linux prior to the split
into Fedora and RHEL (and may still be, for all I know).

> or maybe some other lib...

Dunno what-all may be available.

popt has its own set of limitations.  Check the archives from
the RPM mailing list from around the time when RPM switched
to popt, or perhaps it was when rpmbuild was split out into
a separate executable, for the laundry list of issues they
encountered in attempting to maintain compatibility at the
command line level between what they had before and after.