Package nl.colorize.util.cli

Class CommandLineArgumentParser

java.lang.Object

nl.colorize.util.cli.CommandLineArgumentParser

public class CommandLineArgumentParser
extends Object

Define supported arguments for a command line interface, then parse the provided arguments accordingly. This class only allows named arguments and flags, arguments without an explicit name are not supported.

Refer to the library's README file for information and examples on how to define a command line interface using this class.

When providing argument values on the command line, argument names are considered case-insensitive and normalized. For example, using "input", "-input", "--input", or "--input=value" all map to the same argument.

This class exists because Args4j has not been updated since 2016. Command line arguments are defined using annotations, in a similar way to Args4j. However, the annotations are added to record fields, which Args4j couldn't use because it predates records being introduced in Java 17.

Constructor Summary

Constructors

Modifier	Constructor	Description
	CommandLineArgumentParser(Class<?> applicationName)
	CommandLineArgumentParser(String applicationName)
protected	CommandLineArgumentParser(String applicationName, PrintWriter out, boolean exitOnFail)

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method	Description
void	addDescription(String... lines)	Extends the usage description with the specified line.
void	disableColor()	By default, command line output uses ANSI color to improve readability.
PropertyDeserializer	getPropertyDeserializer()	Returns the PropertyDeserializer that is used to convert command line arguments, which are always strings, to the correct type.
<T> T	parse(String[] argv, Class<T> cli)	Parses the command line arguments based on the Arg annotations in the specified class.
void	printUsage(Class<?> cli)	Prints the usage information message for the command line interface.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Constructor Details

CommandLineArgumentParser

public CommandLineArgumentParser(String applicationName)

CommandLineArgumentParser

public CommandLineArgumentParser(Class<?> applicationName)

CommandLineArgumentParser

protected CommandLineArgumentParser(String applicationName,
 PrintWriter out,
 boolean exitOnFail)

Method Details

getPropertyDeserializer

public PropertyDeserializer getPropertyDeserializer()

Returns the PropertyDeserializer that is used to convert command line arguments, which are always strings, to the correct type.

addDescription

public void addDescription(String... lines)

Extends the usage description with the specified line. This information will be displayed when the command line interface's usage information messsage is printed.

disableColor

public void disableColor()

By default, command line output uses ANSI color to improve readability. Calling this method disables colors and reverts to plain text output.

printUsage

public void printUsage(Class<?> cli)

Prints the usage information message for the command line interface. This is done automatically if the provides arguments are incomplete.

parse

public <T> T parse(String[] argv,
 Class<T> cli)
            throws CommandLineInterfaceException

Parses the command line arguments based on the Arg annotations in the specified class. If the provided arguments are incomplete or invalid, usage information will be displayed. If this class was configured to exit on failure, System.exit will be invoked to exit the application.

Throws:

CommandLineInterfaceException - If the provided arguments are incomplete or invalid.

IllegalArgumentException - if cli does not define any constructor arguments annotated withArg.