program_options.dox

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/** @mainpage Program options documentation 

    @section scope Scope

    Briefly, the library should allow program developers to obtain
    <em>program options</em>, i.e. (name,value) pairs from the user,
    via conventional methods such as command line and config file.
    
    Necessary facilities include:
    - parse command line
    - parse config files
    - perform semantic validation on input, such as checking for correct
      type of parameters, and storing values.
    - combine all inputs together, so that all program options can
      be obtained in one place.

    @section goals Goals
    The fundamental goals for this library were:
    - it should be more convenient to use it than parse command line by hand,
      even when the number of possible options is 2,
    - all popular command line styles should be supported,
    - "you pay for what you use" principle is important: simple utilities
      need not be forced to depend on excessive amount of code.
    - it must be possible to validate option values, convert them to required
      types, and store either in program variables, or in data structures
      maintained by the library.
    - data from command line and config file should be usable together, and
      alternative program option sources (such as registry) should be
      possible.

   @section design_overview Design overview

   To meet the stated goals, the library uses a layered architecture.
   -# At the bottom, there are two parser classes, 
      boost::program_options::cmdline and 
      boost::program_options::config_file.
    They are responsible for syntax matters only and provide simple 
    iterator-like interface.
   -# The boost::program_options::options_and_arguments holds the result of parsing command line or
    config file. It is still concerned with syntax only and holds precisely
    what is found on command line. There's a couple of associated parse
    functions (
    @ref parse_cmdline_func "1",
    @ref parse_config_file_func "2"), 
    which relieve the user from the need to iterate over options 
    and arguments manually.
   -# The class boost::program_options::options_description is a high-level 
    description of allowed
    program options, which does not depend on concrete parser class. In
    addition, it can be used to provide help message. There are parse
    functions which return options_and_arguments given options_description.
   -# The options_description class also has semantic responsibilities. It's
    possible to specify validators for option, their default values, and the 
    like. There's a function boost::program_options::perform_semantic_actions, 
    which handles this information and returns a map of option values.
   -# Finally, at the top, there boost::program_options::variables_map class. 
    It's possible to
    store options in it, and obtain them later. Another feature is that
    different variable_map instances can be linked together, so that both
    command line and config file data is used. Additional option sources can
    be added at this level.
   
   @section futher_reading Futher reading

   To get further information about the library, you might want to read
   the documentation for the classes referenced above. Another possibility
   is to look through the examples:
   
    -  @ref options_description "simple usage"
    -  @ref variables_map "parsing with validation and assignment to program variables"
    -  @ref multiple_sources "using command line and config file together"
    -  @ref custom_syntax "customized options syntax"
    -  @ref real_example "real example"
    -  @ref custom_validator "custom validator"
    -  @ref multiple_modules "possible approach for multi-module programs"
    -  @ref cmdline "low level cmdline parsing"

    Finally, you might want the check out the @ref recipes "recipes" page.
*/

/** @page examples Examples

    -  @ref options_description "simple usage"
    -  @ref variables_map "parsing with validation and assignment to program variables"
    -  @ref multiple_sources "using command line and config file together"
    -  @ref custom_syntax "customized options syntax"
    -  @ref real_example "real example"
    -  @ref custom_validator "custom validator"
    -  @ref multiple_modules "possible approach for multi-module programs"
    -  @ref cmdline "low level cmdline parsing"
*/

/** @page options_description Options description

    Example of quite a simple usage. Options are registered and the 
    command line is parsed. The user is responsible to interpreting the
    option values. This also how automatic help message.

    @include options_description.cpp
*/

/** @page variables_map Variables map

    In this example, the <tt>parameter</tt> function is used to enable
    validation of options (i.e. checking that they are of correct type).
    The option values are also stored in program variables.

    @include variables_map.cpp
*/

/** @page multiple_sources Multiple sources

    It is possible for program options to come from different sources. 
    Here, the command line and a config file are used, and the values
    specified in both are combined, with preferrence given to the
    command line.

    @include multiple_sources.cpp
*/

/** @page custom_syntax Custom syntax

    Some applications use a custom syntax for the command line. In this
    example, the gcc style of &quot;-fbar&quot;/&quot;-f&quot; is handled.

    @include custom_syntax.cpp
*/

/** @page real_example A real example

    Shows how to use custom option description class and custom formatter.
    Also validates some option relationship.

    @include real.cpp
*/

/** @page multiple_modules Multiple modules

    Large programs are likely to have several modules which want to use
    some options. One possible approach is show here.
    @sa @ref recipe_multiple_modules

    @include multiple_modules.cpp 
*/

/** @page custom_validator Custom validator

    It's possible to plug in arbitrary function for converting the string
    value from the command line to the value used in your program. The
    example below illustrates this.

    @include regex.cpp
*/

/** @page cmdline The cmdline class

    When validation or automatic help message are not needed, it's possible
    to use low-level boost::program_options::cmdline class, like shown
    in this example.

    @include cmdline.cpp
*/