GETSUBOPT(3)		   Linux Programmers Manual		 GETSUBOPT(3)



NAME
       getsubopt - parse suboption arguments from a string

SYNOPSIS
       #define _XOPEN_SOURCE 500
       #include 

       int getsubopt(char **optionp, char * const *tokens, char **valuep);

DESCRIPTION
       getsubopt()  parses  the list of comma-separated suboptions provided in
       optionp.  (Such a suboption list is typically produced  when  getopt(3)
       is  used  to  parse  a  command	line; see for example the -o option of
       mount(8).)  Each suboption may include an associated  value,  which  is
       separated  from	the suboption name by an equal sign.  The following is
       an example of the kind of string that might be passed in optionp:

	   ro,name=xyz

       The tokens argument is a pointer  to  a	NULL-terminated  list  of  the
       tokens that getsubopt() will look for in optionp.  The tokens should be
       distinct, null-terminated strings containing at	least  one  character,
       with no embedded equal signs or commas.

       Each call to getsubopt() returns information about the next unprocessed
       suboption in optionp.  The first equal sign in a suboption (if any)  is
       interpreted  as a separator between the name and the value of that sub
       option.	The value extends to the next comma, or (for the  last	subop
       tion) to the end of the string.	If the name of the suboption matches a
       known name from tokens, and a value string was found, getsubopt()  sets
       *valuep	to  the address of that string.  The first comma in optionp is
       overwritten with a null	byte,  so  *valuep  is	precisely  the	"value
       string" for that suboption.

       If  the suboption is recognized, but no value string was found, *valuep
       is set to NULL.

       When getsubopt() returns, optionp points to the next suboption,	or  to
       the  null  character at the end of the string if the last suboption was
       just processed.

RETURN VALUE
       If the first suboption in optionp is  recognized,  getsubopt()  returns
       the  index  of the matching suboption element in tokens.  Otherwise, -1
       is returned and *valuep is the entire name[=value] string.

       Since *optionp is changed, the first suboption before the call to  get
       subopt()  is  not  (necessarily)  the same as the first suboption after
       getsubopt().

CONFORMING TO
       POSIX.1-2001.

NOTES
       Since  getsubopt()  overwrites  any  commas  it	finds  in  the	string
       *optionp, that string must be writable; it cannot be a string constant.

EXAMPLE
       The following program expects suboptions following a "-o" option.

       #define _XOPEN_SOURCE 500
       #include 
       #include 
       #include 

       int main(int argc, char **argv)
       {
	   enum {
	       RO_OPT = 0,
	       RW_OPT,
	       NAME_OPT
	   };
	   char *const token[] = {
	       [RO_OPT]   = "ro",
	       [RW_OPT]   = "rw",
	       [NAME_OPT] = "name",
	       NULL
	   };
	   char *subopts;
	   char *value;
	   int opt;

	   int readonly = 0;
	   int readwrite = 0;
	   char *name = NULL;
	   int errfnd = 0;

	   while ((opt = getopt(argc, argv, "o:")) != -1) {
	       switch (opt) {
	       case 'o':
		   subopts = optarg;
		   while (*subopts != '\0' && !errfnd) {

		   switch (getsubopt(&subopts, token, &value)) {
		   case RO_OPT:
		       readonly = 1;
		       break;

		   case RW_OPT:
		       readwrite = 1;
		       break;

		   case NAME_OPT:
		       if (value == NULL) {
			   fprintf(stderr, "Missing value for "
				   "suboption '%s'\n", token[NAME_OPT]);
			   errfnd = 1;
			   continue;
		       }

		       name = value;
		       break;

		   default:
		       fprintf(stderr, "No match found "
			       "for token: /%s/\n", value);
		       errfnd = 1;
		       break;
		   }
	       }
	       if (readwrite && readonly) {
		   fprintf(stderr, "Only one of '%s' and '%s' can be "
			   "specified\n", token[RO_OPT], token[RW_OPT]);
		   errfnd = 1;
	       }
	       break;

	       default:
		   errfnd = 1;
	       }
	   }

	   if (errfnd || argc == 1) {
	       fprintf(stderr, "\nUsage: %s -o \n", argv[0]);
	       fprintf(stderr, "suboptions are 'ro', 'rw', "
		       "and 'name='\n");
	       exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
	   }

	   /* Remainder of program... */

	   exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
       }

SEE ALSO
       getopt(3), feature_test_macros(7)

COLOPHON
       This page is part of release 3.05 of the Linux  man-pages  project.   A
       description  of	the project, and information about reporting bugs, can
       be found at http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.



GNU				  2008-05-29			  GETSUBOPT(3)