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My favorite library for this is docopt[0], which parses the docstring at the top of your script. It’s a lot easier for people reading your code to see the usage

by rjeli 7y ago

My favorite library for this is docopt[0], which parses the docstring at the top of your script. It’s a lot easier for people reading your code to see the usage up front rather than scrolling to the bottom and finding your main() and reading the argparse calls: #!/usr/bin/env python3 “”” Usage: ./myscript.py <arg> [<optionalarg>] “”” from docopt import docopt if __name__ == ‘__main__’: args = docopt(__doc__) print(args[‘<arg>’], args[‘<optionalarg>’] or ‘foo’) [0]: https://github.com/docopt/docopt https://github.com/docopt/docopt

orf 7y ago
For really, really basic things docopt is good. But you tend to re-invent the wheel when you need to do something other than the basic parsing it supports. The click docs have a good section[1] on this: > On top of that docopt is restricted to basic parsing. It does not handle argument dispatching and callback invocation or types. This means there is a lot of code that needs to be written in addition to the basic help page to handle the parsing results. 1. http://click.palletsprojects.com/en/7.x/why/#why-not-docopt-etc http://click.palletsprojects.com/en/7.x/why/#why-not-docopt-...
kissgyorgy 7y ago
docopt seems like a good idea at first, but you will hit a limitation sooner or later. Not with Click.
ufmace 7y ago
That's what I came in here to mention. I mostly write small, personal utilities with a max of 5-10 commands and a few parameters, and I think click's architecture is too strange and complex. Docopt is simple and clear, doesn't do anything more than I need, and leaves me free to architect the rest of the script however seems best. It also works the same in a bunch of languages. I do concede that click may be better for CLI apps that grow to tens of thousands of LOC and involve multiple full-time developers. I've never built one that big though. I also worry a bit that docopt doesn't seem to have gotten much attention in a while. It's basically complete, so shouldn't matter, but still.
Rotareti 7y ago
Docopt is a killer arg parser for build scripts. I drop a doc-string like this one in every build script and get the command line interfaces for free: """ Install: pipenv install --dev Usage: make.py [<command>] [options] Commands: build Build wheel. push Push wheel to pypi. test Run tests. bump Run interacitve bump sequence. git Run interactive git sequence. Options: -h, --help Show this screen. """

by rjeli 7y ago

orf 7y ago

For really, really basic things docopt is good. But you tend to re-invent the wheel when you need to do something other than the basic parsing it supports. The click docs have a good section[1] on this: > On top of that docopt is restricted to basic parsing. It does not handle argument dispatching and callback invocation or types. This means there is a lot of code that needs to be written in addition to the basic help page to handle the parsing results. 1. http://click.palletsprojects.com/en/7.x/why/#why-not-docopt-etc http://click.palletsprojects.com/en/7.x/why/#why-not-docopt-...

kissgyorgy 7y ago

docopt seems like a good idea at first, but you will hit a limitation sooner or later. Not with Click.

ufmace 7y ago

That's what I came in here to mention. I mostly write small, personal utilities with a max of 5-10 commands and a few parameters, and I think click's architecture is too strange and complex. Docopt is simple and clear, doesn't do anything more than I need, and leaves me free to architect the rest of the script however seems best. It also works the same in a bunch of languages. I do concede that click may be better for CLI apps that grow to tens of thousands of LOC and involve multiple full-time developers. I've never built one that big though. I also worry a bit that docopt doesn't seem to have gotten much attention in a while. It's basically complete, so shouldn't matter, but still.

Rotareti 7y ago

Docopt is a killer arg parser for build scripts. I drop a doc-string like this one in every build script and get the command line interfaces for free: """ Install: pipenv install --dev Usage: make.py [<command>] [options] Commands: build Build wheel. push Push wheel to pypi. test Run tests. bump Run interacitve bump sequence. git Run interactive git sequence. Options: -h, --help Show this screen. """