+ Horde_Argv
++ Extending Horde_Argv
Since the two major controlling factors in how //Horde_Argv// interprets command-line options are the action and type of each option, the most likely direction of extension is to add new actions and new types.
+++ Adding new types
To add new types, you need to define your own subclass of the {{Horde_Argv_Option class}}. This class has a couple of properties that define //Horde_Argv//'s types: {{$TYPES}} and {{$TYPE_CHECKER}}.
{{$TYPES}} is a tuple of type names; in your subclass, simply define a new tuple {{$TYPES}} that builds on the standard one.
{{$TYPE_CHECKER}} is a dictionary mapping type names to type-checking functions. A type-checking function has the following signature:
<code type="php">
foo check_foo(Horde_Argv_Option $option, string $opt, string $value)
</code>
You can name it whatever you like, and make it return any type you like (e.g. the hypothetical type foo). The value returned by a type-checking function will wind up in the {{Horde_Argv_Values}} instance returned by {{Horde_Argv_Parser->parseArgs()}}, or be passed to callbacks as the {{$value}} parameter.
Your type-checking function should throw {{Horde_Argv_OptionValueException}} if it encounters any problems. {{Horde_Argv_OptionValueException}} takes a single string argument, which is passed as-is to {{Horde_Argv_Parser}}'s {{parserError()}} method, which in turn prepends the program name and the string {{"error:"}} and prints everything to stderr before terminating the process.
Here's a silly example that demonstrates adding an imaginary {{!MyComplex}} option type to parse complex numbers on the command line.
You need to define your type-checker, since it's referred to in the {{$TYPE_CHECKER}} class attribute of your {{Horde_Argv_Option}} subclass:
<code type="php">
class MyOption extends Horde_Argv_Option
{
public function __construct()
{
$this->TYPES[] = 'complex';
$this->TYPE_CHECKER['complex'] = 'checkComplex';
}
public function checkComplex($option, $opt, $value)
{
try {
return new MyComplex(value);
} catch (Exception $e) {
throw new Horde_Argv_OptionValueException(
sprintf('option %s: invalid complex value: %s', (opt, value))
);
}
}
}
</code>
That's it! Now you can write a script that uses the new option type just like any other //Horde_Argv//-based script, except you have to instruct your {{Horde_Argv_Parser}} to use {{!MyOption}} instead of {{Horde_Argv_Option}}:
<code type="php">
$parser = new Horde_Argv_Parser(array('optionClass' => 'MyOption'));
$parser->addOption('-c', array('type' => 'complex'));
</code>
Alternately, you can build your own option list and pass it to {{Horde_Argv_Parser}}; if you don't use {{addOption()}} in the above way, you don't need to tell {{Horde_Argv_Parser}} which option class to use:
<code type="php">
$option_list = array(
new MyOption(
'-c',
array('action' => 'store', 'type' => 'complex', 'dest' => 'c')
)
);
parser = new Horde_Argv_Parser(array('optionList' => $option_list));
</code>
+++ Adding new actions
Adding new actions is a bit trickier, because you have to understand that //Horde_Argv// has a couple of classifications for actions:
: "store" actions : actions that result in //Horde_Argv// storing a value to a property of the current {{Horde_Argv_Values}} instance; these options require a {{dest}} attribute to be supplied to the {{Horde_Argv_Option}} constructor
: "typed" actions : actions that take a value from the command line and expect it to be of a certain type; or rather, a string that can be converted to a certain type. These options require a type attribute to the {{Horde_Argv_Option}} constructor.
These are overlapping sets: some default "store" actions are {{store}}, {{store_const}}, {{append}}, and {{count}}, while the default "typed" actions are {{store}}, {{append}}, and {{callback}}.
When you add an action, you need to decide if it's a "store" action, a "typed" action, neither, or both. Three class properties of {{Horde_Argv_Option}} (or your {{Horde_Argv_Option}} subclass) control this:
: {{$ACTIONS}} : all actions must be listed in {{$ACTIONS}}
: {{$STORE_ACTIONS}} : "store" actions are additionally listed here
: {{$TYPED_ACTIONS}} : "typed" actions are additionally listed here
In order to actually implement your new action, you must override {{Horde_Argv_Option}}'s {{takeAction()}} method and add a case that recognizes your action.
For example, let's add an {{extend}} action. This is similar to the standard {{append}} action, but instead of taking a single value from the command-line and appending it to an existing list, extend will take multiple values in a single comma-delimited string, and extend an existing list with them. That is, if {{"--names"}} is an {{extend}} option of type {{string}}, the command line
<code>
--names=foo,bar --names blah --names ding,dong
</code>
would result in a list
<code type="php">
array('foo', 'bar', 'blah', 'ding', 'dong')
</code>
Again we define a subclass of {{Horde_Argv_Option}}:
<code type="php">
class MyOption extends Horde_Argv_Option
{
public function __construct()
{
$this->ACTIONS[] = 'extend';
$this->STORE_ACTIONS[] = 'extend';
$this->TYPED_ACTIONS[] = 'extend';
}
public function takeAction($action, $dest, $opt, $value, $values, $parser)
{
if ($action == 'extend') {
$lvalue = explode(',', $value);
$values->dest = array_merge($values->ensureValue('dest', array()),
$lvalue);
} else {
parent::takeAction($action, $dest, $opt, $value, $values, $parser);
}
}
}
</code>
Features of note:
* {{extend}} both expects a value on the command-line and stores that value somewhere, so it goes in both {{$STORE_ACTIONS}} and {{$TYPED_ACTIONS}}
* {{!MyOption::takeAction()}} implements just this one new action, and passes control back to {{Horde_Argv_Option::takeAction()}} for the standard //Horde_Argv// actions
* {{$values}} is an instance of the {{Horde_Argv_Values}} class, which provides the very useful {{ensureValue()}} method. {{ensureValue()}} is essentially a getter with a safety valve; it is called as
> {{$values->ensureValue($attr, $value)}}
> If the {{$attr}} property of {{$values}} doesn't exist or is {{null}}, then {{ensureValue()}} first sets it to {{$value}}, and then returns {{$value}}. This is very handy for actions like {{extend}}, {{append}}, and {{count}}, all of which accumulate data in a variable and expect that variable to be of a certain type (an array for the first two, an integer for the latter). Using {{ensureValue()}} means that scripts using your action don't have to worry about setting a default value for the option destinations in question; they can just leave the default as {{null}} and {{ensureValue()}} will take care of getting it right when it's needed.
+++ Other reasons to extend Horde_Argv
Adding new types and new actions are the big, obvious reasons why you might want to extend //Horde_Argv//. I can think of at least two other areas to play with.
First, the simple one: {{Horde_Argv_Parser}} tries to be helpful by calling {{exit()}} when appropriate, i.e. when there's an error on the command line or when the user requests help. In the former case, the traditional course of letting the script crash with a traceback is unacceptable; it will make users think there's a bug in your script when they make a command-line error. In the latter case, there's generally not much point in carrying on after printing a help message.
If this behaviour bothers you, it shouldn't be too hard to "fix" it. You'll have to
# subclass {{Horde_Argv_Parser}} and override {{parserError()}}
# subclass {{Horde_Argv_Option}} and override {{takeAction()}} -- you'll need to provide your own handling of the {{help}} action that doesn't call {{exit()}}
The second, much more complex, possibility is to override the command-line syntax implemented by //Horde_Argv//. In this case, you'd leave the whole machinery of option actions and types alone, but rewrite the code that processes {{argv}}. You'll need to subclass {{Horde_Argv_Parser}} in any case; depending on how radical a rewrite you want, you'll probably need to override one or all of {{parseArgs()}}, {{_processLongOpt()}}, and {{_processShortOpts()}}.
Both of these are left as an exercise for the reader. I have not tried to implement either myself, since I'm quite happy with //Horde_Argv//'s default behaviour (naturally).
Happy hacking, and don't forget: Use the Source, Luke.