args

Common errors

• SyntaxError: Missing parentheses in call to 'print'

  cause The library's examples and likely some internal logic are written using Python 2's `print` statement syntax, which is incompatible with Python 3's `print()` function.
  fix This library is fundamentally Python 2. Using it in Python 3 requires either a Python 2 environment or a significant rewrite of the library to update `print` statements and other potential incompatibilities. It is generally recommended to use modern alternatives.

• AttributeError: 'module' object has no attribute 'some_named_argument'

  cause The 'args' library does not parse named arguments (e.g., `--foo bar`) into directly accessible attributes like `args.foo`. It only provides broad categories like `args.all`, `args.flags`, `args.grouped`, and `args.assignments`. [2]
  fix Access arguments via the provided collections (`args.all`, `args.flags`, `args.assignments`). For structured argument parsing with named arguments, use Python's built-in `argparse` module, which allows defining specific arguments and accessing them by name. [9, 11]

Warnings

• breaking The `args` library (v0.1.0) uses Python 2 `print` statements in its examples and internal logic. Running it directly on Python 3 will result in `SyntaxError` or other compatibility issues due to the `print` function change. The project is effectively Python 2 only.
  Fix: This library is not compatible with Python 3. For modern Python, use the standard library `argparse` or a well-maintained third-party alternative. If absolutely necessary, adapt to Python 2 or manually port relevant code sections.
• deprecated The `args` library is an archived project by Kenneth Reitz and has not been updated since 2012 (PyPI release) / 2018 (last GitHub activity). It is considered unmaintained and should not be used for new projects. [2, 5]
  Fix: Migrate to `argparse` (Python standard library) for robust command-line parsing, or consider other actively maintained libraries like `click` or `docopt` for more advanced CLI applications. [3, 11]
• gotcha The `args` library offers a very simplistic parsing model, unlike `argparse`. It does not support explicit argument definitions, types, default values, or subcommands. It categorizes arguments based on simple patterns (e.g., `--` for flags, `=` for assignments, `.txt` for files by default). [2]
  Fix: Do not expect `args` to provide the rich functionality of `argparse`. Understand its limited parsing capabilities. For anything beyond basic argument inspection, `argparse` is the recommended standard. [9, 11]

Install

• pip install args Install latest 0.1.0 version

Imports

• args
  wrong:

  from args import ...

  correct:

  import args

  The library primarily exposes functionality through the top-level 'args' module, not individual classes or functions.

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to import and use the 'args' library to access various categories of command-line inputs such as all arguments, flags (prefixed with '--'), file-like arguments, and key-value assignments.

import args
import sys

# Example usage for a script run as: python your_script.py arg1 --flag file.txt key=value
# Simulate command-line arguments for demonstration if run without actual CLI args
if len(sys.argv) == 1:
    # Only if the script is run without arguments, use a simulated set
    sys.argv.extend(['arg1', '--flag', 'file.txt', 'key=value'])

print(f'Arguments passed in: {args.all}')
print(f'Flags detected: {args.flags}')
print(f'Files detected: {args.files}')
print(f'NOT files detected: {args.not_files}')
print(f'Grouped Arguments: {args.grouped}')
print(f'Assignments detected: {args.assignments}')