Argus: A Modern C Library for Command-Line Argument Parsing

Welcome to the Argus repository! Argus is a modern C library designed to simplify command-line argument parsing. It offers advanced features like subcommands, validation, multi-inputs, and support for environment variables. Whether you're building a small utility or a complex application, Argus provides the tools you need to handle command-line inputs efficiently.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Usage
• Examples
• Advanced Features
• Contributing
• License
• Contact
• Releases

Features

• Simple API: Argus provides a straightforward interface for defining and parsing command-line arguments.
• Subcommands: Easily manage complex command structures with subcommands.
• Validation: Validate user inputs to ensure they meet your requirements.
• Multi-input Support: Handle multiple values for a single argument seamlessly.
• Environment Variables: Load configurations from environment variables for added flexibility.

Installation

To get started with Argus, you can download the latest release from the Releases section. Download the appropriate file for your platform, extract it, and follow the instructions in the README file to integrate Argus into your project.

Usage

Using Argus is straightforward. Below is a basic example to illustrate how to define and parse command-line arguments.

#include <stdio.h>
#include "argus.h"

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
    ArgusParser parser = argus_create_parser("myapp", "A simple command-line application.");
    
    argus_add_argument(parser, "--name", "Your name", ARGUS_STRING);
    argus_add_argument(parser, "--age", "Your age", ARGUS_INT);
    
    ArgusResult result = argus_parse(parser, argc, argv);
    
    if (result.success) {
        printf("Hello, %s! You are %d years old.\n", result.arguments["name"], result.arguments["age"]);
    } else {
        printf("Error: %s\n", result.error_message);
    }
    
    argus_destroy_parser(parser);
    return 0;
}

Examples

Basic Example

Here’s a simple command-line application that greets the user.

#include <stdio.h>
#include "argus.h"

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
    ArgusParser parser = argus_create_parser("greet", "Greet a user.");
    
    argus_add_argument(parser, "--name", "Name of the user", ARGUS_STRING);
    
    ArgusResult result = argus_parse(parser, argc, argv);
    
    if (result.success) {
        printf("Hello, %s!\n", result.arguments["name"]);
    } else {
        printf("Error: %s\n", result.error_message);
    }
    
    argus_destroy_parser(parser);
    return 0;
}

Subcommands Example

This example demonstrates how to use subcommands with Argus.

#include <stdio.h>
#include "argus.h"

void greet_command(ArgusParser parser) {
    argus_add_argument(parser, "--name", "Name of the user", ARGUS_STRING);
    
    ArgusResult result = argus_parse(parser, argc, argv);
    
    if (result.success) {
        printf("Hello, %s!\n", result.arguments["name"]);
    } else {
        printf("Error: %s\n", result.error_message);
    }
}

void farewell_command(ArgusParser parser) {
    argus_add_argument(parser, "--name", "Name of the user", ARGUS_STRING);
    
    ArgusResult result = argus_parse(parser, argc, argv);
    
    if (result.success) {
        printf("Goodbye, %s!\n", result.arguments["name"]);
    } else {
        printf("Error: %s\n", result.error_message);
    }
}

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
    ArgusParser parser = argus_create_parser("app", "A command-line application with subcommands.");
    
    argus_add_subcommand(parser, "greet", "Greet a user", greet_command);
    argus_add_subcommand(parser, "farewell", "Bid farewell to a user", farewell_command);
    
    ArgusResult result = argus_parse(parser, argc, argv);
    
    if (!result.success) {
        printf("Error: %s\n", result.error_message);
    }
    
    argus_destroy_parser(parser);
    return 0;
}

Advanced Features

Input Validation

Argus allows you to validate inputs easily. You can set constraints on arguments, such as minimum and maximum values for integers.

argus_add_argument(parser, "--age", "Your age", ARGUS_INT)
    .set_min(0)
    .set_max(120);

Multi-input Handling

You can accept multiple values for a single argument. This is useful for options like file paths or tags.

argus_add_argument(parser, "--files", "List of files", ARGUS_STRING_LIST);

Environment Variables

Load configurations from environment variables to make your application flexible.

argus_add_argument(parser, "--config", "Configuration file", ARGUS_STRING)
    .set_default_from_env("MYAPP_CONFIG");

Contributing

We welcome contributions to Argus. If you want to help, please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch (git checkout -b feature/YourFeature).
3. Make your changes.
4. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some feature').
5. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/YourFeature).
6. Open a Pull Request.

Please ensure your code follows the coding standards and includes tests where applicable.

License

Argus is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more information.

Contact

For questions or suggestions, please open an issue in this repository. We appreciate your feedback and contributions.

Releases

You can find the latest releases of Argus in the Releases section. Download the appropriate file for your platform, extract it, and follow the instructions provided.

Feel free to explore, use, and contribute to Argus. Happy coding!