argparse.ArgumentParser Class Reference

Inheritance diagram for argparse.ArgumentParser:

Public Member Functions
def	__init__
def	add_subparsers
def	error
def	exit
def	format_help
def	format_usage
def	format_version
def	parse_args
def	parse_known_args
def	print_help
def	print_usage
def	print_version
Public Member Functions inherited from argparse._AttributeHolder
def	__repr__
Public Member Functions inherited from argparse._ActionsContainer
def	__init__
def	add_argument
def	add_argument_group
def	add_mutually_exclusive_group
def	register
def	set_defaults

Public Attributes
	add_help
	epilog
	formatter_class
	fromfile_prefix_chars
	prog
	usage
	version
Public Attributes inherited from argparse._ActionsContainer
	argument_default
	conflict_handler
	description
	prefix_chars

Private Member Functions
def	_add_action
def	_check_value
def	_get_formatter
def	_get_kwargs
def	_get_nargs_pattern
def	_get_option_tuples
def	_get_optional_actions
def	_get_positional_actions
def	_get_value
def	_get_values
def	_match_argument
def	_match_arguments_partial
def	_parse_known_args
def	_parse_optional
def	_print_message
def	_read_args_from_files

Private Attributes
	_optionals
	_positionals
	_subparsers

Detailed Description

Object for parsing command line strings into Python objects.

Keyword Arguments:
    - prog -- The name of the program (default: sys.argv[0])
    - usage -- A usage message (default: auto-generated from arguments)
    - description -- A description of what the program does
    - epilog -- Text following the argument descriptions
    - version -- Add a -v/--version option with the given version string
    - parents -- Parsers whose arguments should be copied into this one
    - formatter_class -- HelpFormatter class for printing help messages
    - prefix_chars -- Characters that prefix optional arguments
    - fromfile_prefix_chars -- Characters that prefix files containing
        additional arguments
    - argument_default -- The default value for all arguments
    - conflict_handler -- String indicating how to handle conflicts
    - add_help -- Add a -h/-help option

Definition at line 1503 of file argparse.py.

Constructor & Destructor Documentation

def argparse.ArgumentParser.__init__	(		self,
			prog = None,
			usage = None,
			description = None,
			epilog = None,
			version = None,
			parents = [],
			formatter_class = HelpFormatter,
			prefix_chars = '-',
			fromfile_prefix_chars = None,
			argument_default = None,
			conflict_handler = 'error',
			add_help = True
	)

Definition at line 1534 of file argparse.py.

                 add_help=True):

        superinit = super(ArgumentParser, self).__init__
        superinit(description=description,
                  prefix_chars=prefix_chars,
                  argument_default=argument_default,
                  conflict_handler=conflict_handler)

        # default setting for prog
        if prog is None:
            prog = _os.path.basename(_sys.argv[0])

        self.prog = prog
        self.usage = usage
        self.epilog = epilog
        self.version = version
        self.formatter_class = formatter_class
        self.fromfile_prefix_chars = fromfile_prefix_chars
        self.add_help = add_help

        add_group = self.add_argument_group
        self._positionals = add_group(_('positional arguments'))
        self._optionals = add_group(_('optional arguments'))
        self._subparsers = None

        # register types
        def identity(string):
            return string
        self.register('type', None, identity)

        # add help and version arguments if necessary
        # (using explicit default to override global argument_default)
        if self.add_help:
            self.add_argument(
                '-h', '--help', action='help', default=SUPPRESS,
                help=_('show this help message and exit'))
        if self.version:
            self.add_argument(
                '-v', '--version', action='version', default=SUPPRESS,
                help=_("show program's version number and exit"))

        # add parent arguments and defaults
        for parent in parents:
            self._add_container_actions(parent)
            try:
                defaults = parent._defaults
            except AttributeError:
                pass
            else:
                self._defaults.update(defaults)