README.md

cclap - c++ command line argument parser

Command line argument parser written in C++. Uses C++17, providing a modern API that allows easily building simple CLI applications. The tool is provided in the form of a static library that has to be linked into your own project. More instructions below...

How to use

#include "cclap.h"

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
    cclap::ArgParser ap(argc, argv);
    
    // Retrieve program name
    const cclap::ArgName& program_name = ap.program_name(); 
    
    // Retrieve the arguments; can also use auto for convenience
    // API types provided here for reference
    const cclap::ArgVector& arguments = ap.args(); 
    const cclap::NamedPairVector& flags = ap.flags(); 
    const cclap::ArgVector& switches = ap.switches();

    // Accessing command line arguments
    // Required args
    for (auto arg: arguments) {
        std::cout << arg << " ";
    }
    
    // Optional args
    for (auto flag: flags) {
        std::cout << "-" << flag.first << " ";
        for (auto value: flag.second) {
            std::cout << value << " ";
        }
    }
    for (auto s: switches) {
        std::cout << "-" << s << " ";
    } 
    std::cout << std::endl;
    
}

How to build the library

Build dependencies

• CMake (>= v.3.11)
• Compiler that supports building C++ 17 code

Building the project

Use the following commands to build the project into a static library.

git clone https://github.com/adriancostin6/cclap.git
cd cclap
mkdir build 
cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_TESTS=true
make

After a successful build, run the unit-tests using: ctest

Integrating into your own project

In order to use the library in your own project, follow the steps below.

CMake integration

A barebones example CMake file has been provided below. Using this along with the example-usage.cpp found in the test directory should provide an introduction into how to use the API to parse command line arguments.

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.11)
project(example LANGUAGES CXX)

include(FetchContent)
FetchContent_Declare(
    cclap
    GIT_REPOSITORY    https://github.com/adriancostin6/cclap.git
    )
message(STATUS "Fetching cclap...")
FetchContent_MakeAvailable(cclap)
message(STATUS "Copying folder cclap/include to project root...")
file(COPY ${cclap_SOURCE_DIR}/include DESTINATION ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR})

add_executable(example-usage example-usage.cpp)
target_link_libraries(example-usage PRIVATE cclap) 
target_include_directories(example-usage PRIVATE ${cclap_SOURCE_DIR}/include)

Building the example

The first step is creating a directory for your project. After doing so, create a new CMakeLists.txt file containing the template provided above inside it.

The next step involves copying the example from the test folder.

You should end up with something like this:

./
CMakeLists.txt
include/cclap/
example-usage.cpp

Afterwards, run the following commands:

mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make