Current thinking on required options

[Dan Stromberg]

On Mon, Apr 19, 2021 at 12:36 PM Grant Edwards <grant.b.edwards at gmail.com>
wrote:

> On 2021-04-19, Dan Stromberg <drsalists at gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Mon, Apr 19, 2021 at 2:55 AM Loris Bennett <
> loris.bennett at fu-berlin.de> wrote:
> >
> >> However, the options -o, -u, and -g are required, not optional.
> >>
> >> The documentation
> >>
> >>   https://docs.python.org/3/library/argparse.html#required
> >>
> >> advises against required options and here
> >>
> >>
> >>
> https://stackoverflow.com/questions/24180527/argparse-required-arguments-listed-under-optional-arguments
> >>
> >> a way of adding a section 'required arguments' to the usage is
> >> described.
> >>
> >
> > Of _course_ some options need to be required.
>
> Traditionally, required "things" were called arguments and were not
> prefixed with a hyphen. Optional "things" were called options (hence
> the similarity in spelling between "optional" and "option").
>

This is a silly thread.  "option" should be conflated with "optional" no
more than "argument" should be conflated with "a logician's disagreement".

$ cpio
below cmd output started 2021 Mon Apr 19 12:47:07 PM PDT
cpio: You must specify one of -oipt options.
Try `cpio --help' or `cpio --usage' for more information.

Try 'cpio --help' or 'cpio --usage' for more information.


$ tar
below cmd output started 2021 Mon Apr 19 12:49:47 PM PDT
tar: You must specify one of the '-Acdtrux', '--delete' or '--test-label'
options
Try 'tar --help' or 'tar --usage' for more information.