unix utility - GAA official page
Author: Maille Joran
Description: GPL ARGUMENT ANALYSER's official page

GAA official page
GPL Argument Analyzer (c) Joran Maille 1998 - 1999
Last update : February, 9th 1999

What is GAA (the GPL Argument Analyser) ?

The Idea

It's an utility that helps greatly the programmer to analyze the arguments given to his programme. Now, it can take aruments from a CONFIGURATION FILE !
Example : 'zorky --verbose -f plop.txt'; with GAA you only have to define the 'verbose' and the 'f' (file) option. Each option is attached to an action written in C language.

The Principle

The input of GAA is a text file written in GAA language. In this file you define the options and the actions (in C language).
In output, GAA generates :

- the C file that you'll have to add to your project (or Makefile)
- the header file that you'll have to include in your program

What you need to compile GAA

You only need GCC (or CC) to compile GAA (the executable file) and the C file created by GAA.

Download area

Version Number : 1.5
Download the tgz file here :

http://gaa.netpedia.net/gaa-1.5.tgz (65 Kb)

In this pack, you can find all the help files present on this page, and more.

To do... (soon)

> Enable incompatible and obligatory arguments for option without short name.
> Change configuration file's syntax.
> Enable multiple gaa files for a single program.

To do... (later)

> Make gaa understand XML language.
> Use getopt in gaa.

Changes
- 1.5

- Now an option may have only a long name, and no short name.

Syntax is : OPTION (long_name) instead of OPTION (short_name, long_name)

- INCOMP and OBLIGAT doesn't apply anymore for configuration files processed by gaa.
- a missing k declaration has been added
- Don't forget the new syntax (available since 1.4) !

You can write 'DATA foo AS INT' instead of '#int foo' (check sample2.gaa). Isn't it cool ?

- 1.4.7

- A bug with options with the same short name but with different case fixed
- New keyword 'OPTIONAL' added. Opions can now have optional arguments

example

OPTION (f, foo) OPTIONAL STRING -> 1 optional argument
OPTION (f, foo) INT OPTIONAL INT -> 2 arguments, the second is optional

to know if the nth argument has been given, you can use the value (in an action field) @n.

@1 = 0 -> the first argument is missing

- 1.4.5

- Big bug fixed (gaa was writing outside a malloced space)
- A new type of argument added : FLOAT
- More beautiful help. Now, The option's help can contain '\n' and '\t'.

The GAA Language Tutorial (doesn't include the new features yet)

http://gaa.netpedia.net/GAAtut.html

The GAA Language Reference

http://gaa.netpedia.net/GAAref.html

Contact me

Please report ANY BUG or ANY IDEA !!!
If you have any question, don't hesitate

Thanks to www.netpedia.net for hosting

joran@writeme.com