Re: A simple hate today.

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From: David Champion
Subject: Re: A simple hate today.
Date: 17:44 on 26 May 2006
* On 2006.05.26, in <20060526155250.GA30730@xxxxxxxxx.xxxxxxx.xxx>,
*	"Phil Pennock" <phil.pennock@xxxxxxx.xxx> wrote:
> 
> No, but it does argue against having a default action produce desirable
> behaviour, where that action is subject to implementation doing

OK, but...


> But that's the behaviour which the OP hated.  I'd just hate it if things
> did as the OP likes things.  Each to their own.

I think you're conflating the OP with someone else, FTR.  Suggesting
that all unrecognized options map onto --help one to one was someone
else's contribution.  Not that this matters; your point is your point,
no matter who you're disagreeing with.

Myself, I like something along the lines of "-@ is an error. here
is short usage text."  But I never put long usage information in my
built-in help anyway; that belongs in a manual, not in the last three
screensful of my terminal window.  In this arrangement, both interests
are met.  It's clear what is not a known option, and it's actually
helpful rather than meta-helpful.

The OP asked that -h be made a published interface to help, absent any
particular reason not to.  So what's a particular reason not to?  I say:
not much.

Myself, I always make -h produce help up front.  (And sometimes also
--help, even though I rarely use --godawful-long-options.)  It's easy;
it makes sense; it can be anticipated by a broad set of users.  I'm not
concerned with BSD- or GNU-similitude should the program one day present
alternative behaviors with respect to symbolic links or file sizes.  My
program will never be a BSD program or a GNU program, so why should I?

And why should "use lstat/lchown/lwhatever" take precedence over "help,
please" anyway?  If you need lsomething(), you're familiar enough to
find out how to do it, or to remember.  If you need help, you know
little to nothing.  Help should be the easiest thing to get.

-- 
 -D.    dgc@xxxxxxxx.xxx        NSIT    University of Chicago

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