org.apache.commons.cli

Class HelpFormatter


public class HelpFormatter
extends java.lang.Object

A formatter of help messages for the current command line options
Authors:
Slawek Zachcial
John Keyes (john at integralsource.com)

Nested Class Summary

private static class
HelpFormatter.OptionComparator
This class implements the Comparator interface for comparing Options.

Field Summary

static String
DEFAULT_ARG_NAME
default name for an argument
static int
DEFAULT_DESC_PAD
the number of characters of padding to be prefixed to each description line
static int
DEFAULT_LEFT_PAD
default padding to the left of each line
static String
DEFAULT_LONG_OPT_PREFIX
default prefix for long Option
static String
DEFAULT_OPT_PREFIX
default prefix for shortOpts
static String
DEFAULT_SYNTAX_PREFIX
the string to display at the begining of the usage statement
static int
DEFAULT_WIDTH
default number of characters per line
String
defaultArgName
Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setArgName methods instead.
int
defaultDescPad
Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setDescPadding methods instead.
int
defaultLeftPad
Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setLeftPadding methods instead.
String
defaultLongOptPrefix
Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setLongOptPrefix methods instead.
String
defaultNewLine
Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setNewLine methods instead.
String
defaultOptPrefix
Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setOptPrefix methods instead.
String
defaultSyntaxPrefix
Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setSyntaxPrefix methods instead.
int
defaultWidth
Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setWidth methods instead.

Method Summary

private static void
appendOption(StringBuffer buff, Option option, boolean required)
Appends the usage clause for an Option to a StringBuffer.
private static void
appendOptionGroup(StringBuffer buff, OptionGroup group)
Appends the usage clause for an OptionGroup to a StringBuffer.
protected String
createPadding(int len)
Return a String of padding of length len.
protected int
findWrapPos(String text, int width, int startPos)
Finds the next text wrap position after startPos for the text in text with the column width width.
String
getArgName()
Returns the 'argName'.
int
getDescPadding()
Returns the 'descPadding'.
int
getLeftPadding()
Returns the 'leftPadding'.
String
getLongOptPrefix()
Returns the 'longOptPrefix'.
String
getNewLine()
Returns the 'newLine'.
String
getOptPrefix()
Returns the 'optPrefix'.
String
getSyntaxPrefix()
Returns the 'syntaxPrefix'.
int
getWidth()
Returns the 'width'.
void
printHelp(PrintWriter pw, int width, String cmdLineSyntax, String header, Options options, int leftPad, int descPad, String footer)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax.
void
printHelp(PrintWriter pw, int width, String cmdLineSyntax, String header, Options options, int leftPad, int descPad, String footer, boolean autoUsage)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax.
void
printHelp(String cmdLineSyntax, String header, Options options, String footer)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax.
void
printHelp(String cmdLineSyntax, String header, Options options, String footer, boolean autoUsage)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax.
void
printHelp(String cmdLineSyntax, Options options)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax.
void
printHelp(String cmdLineSyntax, Options options, boolean autoUsage)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax.
void
printHelp(int width, String cmdLineSyntax, String header, Options options, String footer)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax.
void
printHelp(int width, String cmdLineSyntax, String header, Options options, String footer, boolean autoUsage)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax.
void
printOptions(PrintWriter pw, int width, Options options, int leftPad, int descPad)
Print the help for the specified Options to the specified writer, using the specified width, left padding and description padding.
void
printUsage(PrintWriter pw, int width, String cmdLineSyntax)
Print the cmdLineSyntax to the specified writer, using the specified width.
void
printUsage(PrintWriter pw, int width, String app, Options options)
Prints the usage statement for the specified application.
void
printWrapped(PrintWriter pw, int width, String text)
Print the specified text to the specified PrintWriter.
void
printWrapped(PrintWriter pw, int width, int nextLineTabStop, String text)
Print the specified text to the specified PrintWriter.
protected StringBuffer
renderOptions(StringBuffer sb, int width, Options options, int leftPad, int descPad)
Render the specified Options and return the rendered Options in a StringBuffer.
protected StringBuffer
renderWrappedText(StringBuffer sb, int width, int nextLineTabStop, String text)
Render the specified text and return the rendered Options in a StringBuffer.
protected String
rtrim(String s)
Remove the trailing whitespace from the specified String.
void
setArgName(String name)
Sets the 'argName'.
void
setDescPadding(int padding)
Sets the 'descPadding'.
void
setLeftPadding(int padding)
Sets the 'leftPadding'.
void
setLongOptPrefix(String prefix)
Sets the 'longOptPrefix'.
void
setNewLine(String newline)
Sets the 'newLine'.
void
setOptPrefix(String prefix)
Sets the 'optPrefix'.
void
setSyntaxPrefix(String prefix)
Sets the 'syntaxPrefix'.
void
setWidth(int width)
Sets the 'width'.

Field Details

DEFAULT_ARG_NAME

public static final String DEFAULT_ARG_NAME
default name for an argument

DEFAULT_DESC_PAD

public static final int DEFAULT_DESC_PAD
the number of characters of padding to be prefixed to each description line
Field Value:
3

DEFAULT_LEFT_PAD

public static final int DEFAULT_LEFT_PAD
default padding to the left of each line
Field Value:
1

DEFAULT_LONG_OPT_PREFIX

public static final String DEFAULT_LONG_OPT_PREFIX
default prefix for long Option

DEFAULT_OPT_PREFIX

public static final String DEFAULT_OPT_PREFIX
default prefix for shortOpts

DEFAULT_SYNTAX_PREFIX

public static final String DEFAULT_SYNTAX_PREFIX
the string to display at the begining of the usage statement

DEFAULT_WIDTH

public static final int DEFAULT_WIDTH
default number of characters per line
Field Value:
74

defaultArgName

public String defaultArgName

Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setArgName methods instead.

the name of the argument

defaultDescPad

public int defaultDescPad

Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setDescPadding methods instead.

the number of characters of padding to be prefixed to each description line

defaultLeftPad

public int defaultLeftPad

Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setLeftPadding methods instead.

amount of padding to the left of each line

defaultLongOptPrefix

public String defaultLongOptPrefix

Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setLongOptPrefix methods instead.

the long Opt prefix

defaultNewLine

public String defaultNewLine

Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setNewLine methods instead.

the new line string

defaultOptPrefix

public String defaultOptPrefix

Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setOptPrefix methods instead.

the shortOpt prefix

defaultSyntaxPrefix

public String defaultSyntaxPrefix

Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setSyntaxPrefix methods instead.

the string to display at the begining of the usage statement

defaultWidth

public int defaultWidth

Deprecated. Scope will be made private for next major version - use get/setWidth methods instead.

number of characters per line

Method Details

appendOption

private static void appendOption(StringBuffer buff,
                                 Option option,
                                 boolean required)
Appends the usage clause for an Option to a StringBuffer.
Parameters:
buff - the StringBuffer to append to
option - the Option to append
required - whether the Option is required or not

appendOptionGroup

private static void appendOptionGroup(StringBuffer buff,
                                      OptionGroup group)
Appends the usage clause for an OptionGroup to a StringBuffer. The clause is wrapped in square brackets if the group is required. The display of the options is handled by appendOption
Parameters:
buff - the StringBuffer to append to
group - the group to append

createPadding

protected String createPadding(int len)
Return a String of padding of length len.
Parameters:
len - The length of the String of padding to create.
Returns:
The String of padding

findWrapPos

protected int findWrapPos(String text,
                          int width,
                          int startPos)
Finds the next text wrap position after startPos for the text in text with the column width width. The wrap point is the last postion before startPos+width having a whitespace character (space, \n, \r).
Parameters:
text - The text being searched for the wrap position
width - width of the wrapped text
startPos - position from which to start the lookup whitespace character
Returns:
postion on which the text must be wrapped or -1 if the wrap position is at the end of the text

getArgName

public String getArgName()
Returns the 'argName'.
Returns:
the 'argName'

getDescPadding

public int getDescPadding()
Returns the 'descPadding'.
Returns:
the 'descPadding'

getLeftPadding

public int getLeftPadding()
Returns the 'leftPadding'.
Returns:
the 'leftPadding'

getLongOptPrefix

public String getLongOptPrefix()
Returns the 'longOptPrefix'.
Returns:
the 'longOptPrefix'

getNewLine

public String getNewLine()
Returns the 'newLine'.
Returns:
the 'newLine'

getOptPrefix

public String getOptPrefix()
Returns the 'optPrefix'.
Returns:
the 'optPrefix'

getSyntaxPrefix

public String getSyntaxPrefix()
Returns the 'syntaxPrefix'.
Returns:
the 'syntaxPrefix'

getWidth

public int getWidth()
Returns the 'width'.
Returns:
the 'width'

printHelp

public void printHelp(PrintWriter pw,
                      int width,
                      String cmdLineSyntax,
                      String header,
                      Options options,
                      int leftPad,
                      int descPad,
                      String footer)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax.
Parameters:
pw - the writer to which the help will be written
width - the number of characters to be displayed on each line
cmdLineSyntax - the syntax for this application
header - the banner to display at the begining of the help
options - the Options instance
leftPad - the number of characters of padding to be prefixed to each line
descPad - the number of characters of padding to be prefixed to each description line
footer - the banner to display at the end of the help

printHelp

public void printHelp(PrintWriter pw,
                      int width,
                      String cmdLineSyntax,
                      String header,
                      Options options,
                      int leftPad,
                      int descPad,
                      String footer,
                      boolean autoUsage)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax.
Parameters:
pw - the writer to which the help will be written
width - the number of characters to be displayed on each line
cmdLineSyntax - the syntax for this application
header - the banner to display at the begining of the help
options - the Options instance
leftPad - the number of characters of padding to be prefixed to each line
descPad - the number of characters of padding to be prefixed to each description line
footer - the banner to display at the end of the help
autoUsage - whether to print an automatically generated usage statement

printHelp

public void printHelp(String cmdLineSyntax,
                      String header,
                      Options options,
                      String footer)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax. This method prints help information to System.out.
Parameters:
cmdLineSyntax - the syntax for this application
header - the banner to display at the begining of the help
options - the Options instance
footer - the banner to display at the end of the help

printHelp

public void printHelp(String cmdLineSyntax,
                      String header,
                      Options options,
                      String footer,
                      boolean autoUsage)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax. This method prints help information to System.out.
Parameters:
cmdLineSyntax - the syntax for this application
header - the banner to display at the begining of the help
options - the Options instance
footer - the banner to display at the end of the help
autoUsage - whether to print an automatically generated usage statement

printHelp

public void printHelp(String cmdLineSyntax,
                      Options options)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax. This method prints help information to System.out.
Parameters:
cmdLineSyntax - the syntax for this application
options - the Options instance

printHelp

public void printHelp(String cmdLineSyntax,
                      Options options,
                      boolean autoUsage)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax. This method prints help information to System.out.
Parameters:
cmdLineSyntax - the syntax for this application
options - the Options instance
autoUsage - whether to print an automatically generated usage statement

printHelp

public void printHelp(int width,
                      String cmdLineSyntax,
                      String header,
                      Options options,
                      String footer)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax. This method prints help information to System.out.
Parameters:
width - the number of characters to be displayed on each line
cmdLineSyntax - the syntax for this application
header - the banner to display at the begining of the help
options - the Options instance
footer - the banner to display at the end of the help

printHelp

public void printHelp(int width,
                      String cmdLineSyntax,
                      String header,
                      Options options,
                      String footer,
                      boolean autoUsage)
Print the help for options with the specified command line syntax. This method prints help information to System.out.
Parameters:
width - the number of characters to be displayed on each line
cmdLineSyntax - the syntax for this application
header - the banner to display at the begining of the help
options - the Options instance
footer - the banner to display at the end of the help
autoUsage - whether to print an automatically generated usage statement

printOptions

public void printOptions(PrintWriter pw,
                         int width,
                         Options options,
                         int leftPad,
                         int descPad)
Print the help for the specified Options to the specified writer, using the specified width, left padding and description padding.
Parameters:
pw - The printWriter to write the help to
width - The number of characters to display per line
options - The command line Options
leftPad - the number of characters of padding to be prefixed to each line
descPad - the number of characters of padding to be prefixed to each description line

printUsage

public void printUsage(PrintWriter pw,
                       int width,
                       String cmdLineSyntax)
Print the cmdLineSyntax to the specified writer, using the specified width.
Parameters:
pw - The printWriter to write the help to
width - The number of characters per line for the usage statement.
cmdLineSyntax - The usage statement.

printUsage

public void printUsage(PrintWriter pw,
                       int width,
                       String app,
                       Options options)
Prints the usage statement for the specified application.
Parameters:
pw - The PrintWriter to print the usage statement
width - The number of characters to display per line
app - The application name
options - The command line Options

printWrapped

public void printWrapped(PrintWriter pw,
                         int width,
                         String text)
Print the specified text to the specified PrintWriter.
Parameters:
pw - The printWriter to write the help to
width - The number of characters to display per line
text - The text to be written to the PrintWriter

printWrapped

public void printWrapped(PrintWriter pw,
                         int width,
                         int nextLineTabStop,
                         String text)
Print the specified text to the specified PrintWriter.
Parameters:
pw - The printWriter to write the help to
width - The number of characters to display per line
nextLineTabStop - The position on the next line for the first tab.
text - The text to be written to the PrintWriter

renderOptions

protected StringBuffer renderOptions(StringBuffer sb,
                                     int width,
                                     Options options,
                                     int leftPad,
                                     int descPad)
Render the specified Options and return the rendered Options in a StringBuffer.
Parameters:
sb - The StringBuffer to place the rendered Options into.
width - The number of characters to display per line
options - The command line Options
leftPad - the number of characters of padding to be prefixed to each line
descPad - the number of characters of padding to be prefixed to each description line
Returns:
the StringBuffer with the rendered Options contents.

renderWrappedText

protected StringBuffer renderWrappedText(StringBuffer sb,
                                         int width,
                                         int nextLineTabStop,
                                         String text)
Render the specified text and return the rendered Options in a StringBuffer.
Parameters:
sb - The StringBuffer to place the rendered text into.
width - The number of characters to display per line
nextLineTabStop - The position on the next line for the first tab.
text - The text to be rendered.
Returns:
the StringBuffer with the rendered Options contents.

rtrim

protected String rtrim(String s)
Remove the trailing whitespace from the specified String.
Parameters:
s - The String to remove the trailing padding from.
Returns:
The String of without the trailing padding

setArgName

public void setArgName(String name)
Sets the 'argName'.
Parameters:
name - the new value of 'argName'

setDescPadding

public void setDescPadding(int padding)
Sets the 'descPadding'.
Parameters:
padding - the new value of 'descPadding'

setLeftPadding

public void setLeftPadding(int padding)
Sets the 'leftPadding'.
Parameters:
padding - the new value of 'leftPadding'

setLongOptPrefix

public void setLongOptPrefix(String prefix)
Sets the 'longOptPrefix'.
Parameters:
prefix - the new value of 'longOptPrefix'

setNewLine

public void setNewLine(String newline)
Sets the 'newLine'.
Parameters:
newline - the new value of 'newLine'

setOptPrefix

public void setOptPrefix(String prefix)
Sets the 'optPrefix'.
Parameters:
prefix - the new value of 'optPrefix'

setSyntaxPrefix

public void setSyntaxPrefix(String prefix)
Sets the 'syntaxPrefix'.
Parameters:
prefix - the new value of 'syntaxPrefix'

setWidth

public void setWidth(int width)
Sets the 'width'.
Parameters:
width - the new value of 'width'