Global options & always parsing options as 'multiple'

[stefanjarina]

Global options & always parsing options as 'multiple'

[stefanjarina]

Hi, thanks a lot, Problem 1 pretty much solved.
As for the Problem 2 I guess, that I will just make it absolutely clear in help that it have to be specified at the end of the command and that's it.
Thanks for your help.

[Tyrrrz]

Regarding "Problem 1" I would also suggest default interface members feature introduced in C#8 which essentially allows multiple inheritance. You can use that to compose options/parameters in your commands.

Regarding "Problem 2" it's explained a little bit in readme and, to summarize, the answer is readability. With dotnet run -- config -r Github get myKey it's very unclear whether get and myKey are also part of -r or not, and you can only be sure if you know how the tool is implemented. With dotnet run -- config get myKey -r Gitlab it's clear and there's no ambiguity.

Most CLIs that I know are not picky about order and accept options mixed with parameters, so both approaches work. With CliFx the order is enforced for consistency.

Also, dotnet is an example of a CLI where order matters as well:

[domn1995]

I would solve Problem 1 by using inheritance. Essentially, put all the "global" options in an abstract base class and extend that base class for all your commands.

[stefanjarina]

Hello, thank you a lot for answer, abstract class works and it solves Problem 1 that I can use it at the end of command without implementing it in every command.

Works:

-> dotnet run -- config get myKey -r Gitlab

Passed Global Option Repo: 'Gitlab'

Problem 2 however blocks in using it in the middle
Doesn't Work (and it is strange)

-> dotnet run -- config -r Github get myKey

Option --repo|-r expects a single value, but provided with multiple:
"Github" "get" "myKey"
Usage
  dotnet ginit.dll config [command] [options]

Options
  -r|--repo         Specify repository Valid values: "Github", "Gitlab", "Azure", "Bitbucket". Default: "Github".
  -h|--help         Shows help text.

Commands
  get               Get value of a configuration key

You can run `dotnet ginit.dll config [command] --help` to show help on a specific command.

I think it can be solved 2 ways:

1. Allow single

[CommandOption("name", "n", IsSingle = true, ....)] or [CommandOptionSingle("name", "n", ....)]

2. Allow to specify the # of arguments belonging to the option

[CommandOption("name", "n", ArgSize = 2)] or NArgs, NumberOfArguments NumberOfArgs, etc...

example:
python click library have it implemented in this way:

Sometimes, you have options that take more than one argument. For options, only a fixed number of arguments is supported. This can be configured by the nargs parameter. The values are then stored as a tuple.

@click.command()
@click.option('--pos', nargs=2, type=float)
def findme(pos):
    click.echo('%s / %s' % pos)

And on the command line:

$ findme --pos 2.0 3.0
2.0 / 3.0

I think, here might be problematic to pass value to subcommands, so for me it is enough that I can use globals at the end of the commands, however it is strange and people would expect that globals work anywhere in the command.

Once again, thanks.

[Tyrrrz]

You're welcome!

[alirezanet]

Regarding "Problem 1" I would also suggest default interface members feature introduced in C#8 which essentially allows multiple inheritance. You can use that to compose options/parameters in your commands.

this is a little bit confusing because clifx doesn't recognize default interface members in the commands! what did I miss!? can you explain a little bit?

[Tyrrrz]

Regarding "Problem 1" I would also suggest default interface members feature introduced in C#8 which essentially allows multiple inheritance. You can use that to compose options/parameters in your commands.

this is a little bit confusing because clifx doesn't recognize default interface members in the commands! what did I miss!? can you explain a little bit?

I haven't tried that in a while, what happens exactly? Do default members function differently from inherited members in terms of reflection?

[alirezanet]

Yes, if you mean something like this

public interface IBaseOptions : ICommand
{
   [CommandOption("no-color", 'c', Description = "Disable color output")]
   public bool NoColor
   {
      get => !Logger.Colors;
      set => Logger.Colors = !value;
   }

   [CommandOption("quite", 'q', Description = "Disable console output")]
   public bool Quite
   {
      get => Logger.Quiet;
      set => Logger.Quiet = value;
   }

   [CommandOption("verbose", 'v', Description = "Enable verbose output")]
   public bool Verbose
   {
      get => Logger.Verbose;
      set => Logger.Verbose = value;
   }
}

public class SomeCommand: IBaseOptions {}

it doesn't work by default. you need explicit type casting first, these props belong to the IBaseOptions type, not SomeCommand
(this could be a great feature though :) )