[PATCH 2/3] tools subcmd: support optarg as separate argument
From: Tomas Glozar
Date: Fri Mar 20 2026 - 11:13:37 EST
In addition to "-ovalue" and "--opt=value" syntax, allow also "-o value"
and "--opt value" for options with optional argument when the newly
added PARSE_OPT_OPTARG_ALLOW_NEXT flag is set.
This behavior is turned off by default since it does not make sense for
tools using non-option command line arguments. Consider the ambiguity
of "cmd -d x", where "-d x" can mean either "-d with argument of x" or
"-d without argument, followed by non-option argument x". This is not an
issue in the case that the tool takes no non-option arguments.
To implement this, a new local variable, force_defval, is created in
get_value(), along with a comment explaining the logic.
Signed-off-by: Tomas Glozar <tglozar@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
tools/lib/subcmd/parse-options.c | 53 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----
tools/lib/subcmd/parse-options.h | 1 +
2 files changed, 46 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
diff --git a/tools/lib/subcmd/parse-options.c b/tools/lib/subcmd/parse-options.c
index 555d617c1f50..664b2053bb77 100644
--- a/tools/lib/subcmd/parse-options.c
+++ b/tools/lib/subcmd/parse-options.c
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ static int get_value(struct parse_opt_ctx_t *p,
const char *s, *arg = NULL;
const int unset = flags & OPT_UNSET;
int err;
+ bool force_defval = false;
if (unset && p->opt)
return opterror(opt, "takes no value", flags);
@@ -123,6 +124,42 @@ static int get_value(struct parse_opt_ctx_t *p,
}
}
+ if (opt->flags & PARSE_OPT_OPTARG && !p->opt) {
+ if (!(p->flags & PARSE_OPT_OPTARG_ALLOW_NEXT)) {
+ /*
+ * If the option has an optional argument, and the argument is not
+ * provided in the option itself, do not attempt to get it from
+ * the next argument, unless PARSE_OPT_OPTARG_ALLOW_NEXT is set.
+ *
+ * This prevents a non-option argument from being interpreted as an
+ * optional argument of a preceding option, for example:
+ *
+ * $ cmd --opt val
+ * -> is "val" argument of "--opt" or a separate non-option
+ * argument?
+ *
+ * With PARSE_OPT_OPTARG_ALLOW_NEXT, "val" is interpreted as
+ * the argument of "--opt", i.e. the same as "--opt=val".
+ * Without PARSE_OPT_OPTARG_ALLOW_NEXT, --opt is interpreted
+ * as having the default value, and "val" as a separate non-option
+ * argument.
+ *
+ * PARSE_OPT_OPTARG_ALLOW_NEXT is useful for commands that take no
+ * non-option arguments and want to allow more flexibility in
+ * optional argument passing.
+ */
+ force_defval = true;
+ }
+
+ if (p->argc <= 1 || p->argv[1][0] == '-') {
+ /*
+ * If next argument is an option or does not exist,
+ * use the default value.
+ */
+ force_defval = true;
+ }
+ }
+
if (opt->flags & PARSE_OPT_NOBUILD) {
char reason[128];
bool noarg = false;
@@ -148,7 +185,7 @@ static int get_value(struct parse_opt_ctx_t *p,
noarg = true;
if (opt->flags & PARSE_OPT_NOARG)
noarg = true;
- if (opt->flags & PARSE_OPT_OPTARG && !p->opt)
+ if (force_defval)
noarg = true;
switch (opt->type) {
@@ -212,7 +249,7 @@ static int get_value(struct parse_opt_ctx_t *p,
err = 0;
if (unset)
*(const char **)opt->value = NULL;
- else if (opt->flags & PARSE_OPT_OPTARG && !p->opt)
+ else if (force_defval)
*(const char **)opt->value = (const char *)opt->defval;
else
err = get_arg(p, opt, flags, (const char **)opt->value);
@@ -244,7 +281,7 @@ static int get_value(struct parse_opt_ctx_t *p,
return (*opt->callback)(opt, NULL, 1) ? (-1) : 0;
if (opt->flags & PARSE_OPT_NOARG)
return (*opt->callback)(opt, NULL, 0) ? (-1) : 0;
- if (opt->flags & PARSE_OPT_OPTARG && !p->opt)
+ if (force_defval)
return (*opt->callback)(opt, NULL, 0) ? (-1) : 0;
if (get_arg(p, opt, flags, &arg))
return -1;
@@ -255,7 +292,7 @@ static int get_value(struct parse_opt_ctx_t *p,
*(int *)opt->value = 0;
return 0;
}
- if (opt->flags & PARSE_OPT_OPTARG && !p->opt) {
+ if (force_defval) {
*(int *)opt->value = opt->defval;
return 0;
}
@@ -271,7 +308,7 @@ static int get_value(struct parse_opt_ctx_t *p,
*(unsigned int *)opt->value = 0;
return 0;
}
- if (opt->flags & PARSE_OPT_OPTARG && !p->opt) {
+ if (force_defval) {
*(unsigned int *)opt->value = opt->defval;
return 0;
}
@@ -289,7 +326,7 @@ static int get_value(struct parse_opt_ctx_t *p,
*(long *)opt->value = 0;
return 0;
}
- if (opt->flags & PARSE_OPT_OPTARG && !p->opt) {
+ if (force_defval) {
*(long *)opt->value = opt->defval;
return 0;
}
@@ -305,7 +342,7 @@ static int get_value(struct parse_opt_ctx_t *p,
*(unsigned long *)opt->value = 0;
return 0;
}
- if (opt->flags & PARSE_OPT_OPTARG && !p->opt) {
+ if (force_defval) {
*(unsigned long *)opt->value = opt->defval;
return 0;
}
@@ -321,7 +358,7 @@ static int get_value(struct parse_opt_ctx_t *p,
*(u64 *)opt->value = 0;
return 0;
}
- if (opt->flags & PARSE_OPT_OPTARG && !p->opt) {
+ if (force_defval) {
*(u64 *)opt->value = opt->defval;
return 0;
}
diff --git a/tools/lib/subcmd/parse-options.h b/tools/lib/subcmd/parse-options.h
index 8e9147358a28..c573a0ca5ca6 100644
--- a/tools/lib/subcmd/parse-options.h
+++ b/tools/lib/subcmd/parse-options.h
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ enum parse_opt_flags {
PARSE_OPT_KEEP_ARGV0 = 4,
PARSE_OPT_KEEP_UNKNOWN = 8,
PARSE_OPT_NO_INTERNAL_HELP = 16,
+ PARSE_OPT_OPTARG_ALLOW_NEXT = 32,
};
enum parse_opt_option_flags {
--
2.53.0