On Fri, Jan 08, 2021 at 05:29:31PM -0600, Edgar Pettijohn wrote:
> In the BUGS section for the getopt(3) manual it mentions not using
> single digits for options. I know spamd uses -4 and -6 there are
> probably others. Should they be changed? Or is the manual mistaken?
>
That section seems ambiguous (especially in light of your post) on whether
using digits is wrong, or abusing digit support for multi-digit number
option support is wrong. But I think the intention is the latter.
FWIW, POSIX explicitly permits digits:
Guideline 3:
Each option name should be a single alphanumeric character (the alnum
character classification) from the portable character set. The -W
(capital-W) option shall be reserved for vendor options.
Multi-digit options should not be allowed.
https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/basedefs/V1_chap12.html#tag_12_02
Guideline 3 applies to getopt(3) because,
The getopt() function... shall follow Utility Syntax Guidelines 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 9, and 10 in XBD Utility Syntax Guidelines.
https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/functions/getopt.html
