# BlinkParse
A python library for parsing command line arguments
## Installation
`pip install blinkparse`
## Usage
#### `Parser(args=[], commands=[], description='', commandRequired=False, noOperands=False)`
- Returns a `blinkparse.Arguments` object
- `args` is a list of `blinkparse.Argument` objects
- `commands` is a list of `blinkparse.Command` objects
- `description` is a description to show at the top of the help page
- `commandRequired` is whether the program requires a command to be passed in
- `noOperands` is whether the program is allowed to take operands
- `parse(inputArgs=None)`
- Returns a `blinkparse.Arguments` object
- `inputArgs` is a list of the arguments to parse. This defaults to `sys.argv[1:]`
#### `Argument(name, shortName=None, takesValue=False, required=False, description=None)`
- `name` is the argument name used in the long syntax (`--myArg`, `--myArg=myValue`)
- `shortName` is the argument name used in the long syntax (`-a`, `-a myValue`)
- `takesValue` is whether the argument takes a input (see above)
- `required` makes the blinkparse raise an error if the argument isn't passed in
- `description` is a description to show in the help page
#### `Command(name, args=[], aliases=[])`
- Usage
- `Command('hello', [CommandArgument('person'), CommandArgument('gender', required=False, options=['male', 'female', 'other])], 'h')`
- `$ python3 example.py hello jered`
- `$ python3 example.py hello joe male`
- `name` is the name of the command
- `args` is a list of `blinkparse.CommandArgument` objects that the command takes
- `CommandArgument(name, options=None, required=True)`
- `name` is the name of the command argument
- `options` is a list of allowed options for the argument (defaults to everything)
- `required` makes blinkparse raise an error if the command argument isn't passed in
- `aliases` is a list of other names for the command
## Full example
```python
from blinkparse import *
args = Parser(
args=[
Argument('save', 's', description='Save the program output'),
],
commands=[
Command('hello', [
CommandArgument('person'),
CommandArgument('gender', required=False, options=['male', 'female', 'other'])
]),
Command('bye', [
CommandArgument('person')
])
],
description='''
hello.py
A simple demo of blinkparse
''',
commandRequired=True
).parse()
if args.command == 'hello':
output = 'Hello ' + args.commandArgs['person']
if 'gender' in args.commandArgs:
output += ', you are ' + args.commandArgs['gender']
else:
output = 'Bye ' + args.commandArgs['person']
if 'save' in args.args:
with open('hello.txt', 'w') as outputFile:
outputFile.write(output)
else:
print(output)
```
