C++ CLI Arguments Parser Examples

A quick repository to check out and compare a couple of C++ CLI arguments parser libraries. Note that these are example programs and the command line flags and options might not make sense on their own.

Libraries

• clipp (seems to be no longer maintained)
• argparse
• CLI11

Note: At the moment clipp does not compile with C++20 and MSVC.

Build

Default build instructions for CMake and Vcpkg. These examples assume that Vcpkg is installed in your home directory. Adjust the paths if necessary.

Vcpkg toolchain

Pass your Vcpkg toolchain file via CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE, for example on Windows:
-DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=%HOMEPATH%\vcpkg\scripts\buildsystems\vcpkg.cmake

Or on Unix systems:
-DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$HOME/vcpkg/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake

Linux + Mac

$ mkdir build
$ cd build
$ cmake -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$HOME/vcpkg/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake ..
$ ninja
$ cd ..
$ ./build/src/cli11 -h

Windows

$ mkdir build
$ cd build
$ cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=%HOMEPATH%\vcpkg\scripts\buildsystems\vcpkg.cmake -DVCPKG_TARGET_TRIPLET=x64-windows ..
$ cmake --build . --config Release
$ cd ..
$ .\build\src\Release\cli11.exe -h

clipp

DESCRIPTION
CLI Parser Example (clipp)
SYNOPSIS
clipp [-h] [-v|-vv] [-t|-p|-d|-r] [-s <seed>] [-z <zoom>] [-i] <width> <height> [<filename>]
[([--single] [--multi]) | --all]
OPTIONS
-h, --help show help
-v, --verbose
show info log messages (verbose)
-vv, --debug
show debug log messages (very verbose)
-t, --text|-p, --pretty|-d, --data|-r, --raw
output format (default: text)
-s, --seed <seed>
random seed (0 or bigger)
-z, --zoom <zoom>
pixel zoom factor for .raw files (default: 1)
-i, --info output additional info
<width> maze width
<height> maze height
<filename> output filename
--single run test: single inserts for every row
--multi run test: insert multiple rows in one request
--all run all tests (default)
EXAMPLE
$ clipp --text 10 10 out.txt

argparse

Usage: argparse [options] width height Positional arguments:
width maze width
height maze height
Optional arguments:
-h --help shows help message and exits
-v --version prints version information and exits
--verbose show info log messages (verbose) [default: false]
-vv --debug show debug log messages (very verbose) [default: false]
-t --text output format: text [default: false]
-p --pretty output format: pretty [default: false]
-d --data output format: data [default: false]
-r --raw output format: raw [default: false]
-i --info output additional info [default: false]
--single run test: single inserts for every row [default: false]
--multi run test: insert multiple rows in one request [default: false]
--all run all tests (default) [default: false]
-s --seed random seed (0 or bigger) [default: 0]
-z --zoom pixel zoom factor for .raw files [default: 1]
-f --filename output filename [default: ""]

CLI11

CLI Parser Example (CLI11)
Usage: ./build/src/cli11 [OPTIONS] width height [filename]
Positionals:
width INT REQUIRED maze width
height INT REQUIRED maze height
filename TEXT output filename
Options:
-h,--help Print this help message and exit
-s,--seed INT random seed (0 or bigger)
-z,--zoom INT=1 pixel zoom factor for .raw files
-i,--info output additional info
-v log level (-v: verbose, -vv: debug messages)
[Option Group: output format (default: text)]
Options:
-t,--text Excludes: --pretty --data --raw
text: uses ASCII '#' characters for walls
-p,--pretty Excludes: --text --data --raw
pretty: uses UNICODE line drawing characters
-d,--data Excludes: --text --pretty --raw
data: export the internal wall data
-r,--raw Excludes: --text --pretty --data
raw: generate a 1 byte per pixel grayscale raw image
[Option Group: run tests (default: all)]
Options:
--single Excludes: --multi --all
run test: single inserts for every row
--multi Excludes: --single --all
run test: insert multiple rows in one request
--all Excludes: --single --multi
run all tests