Re: why aren't gnu utils normalized?

[Miles Bader]

Bob Fry <bobfry@mailinator.com> writes:
> Well, I wouldn't touch the traditional single-letter options.
> Instead, fix the double-dash options.  Again, I don't think it would
> be huge.

The various programs which compose GNU were written by many different
people, and are often still maintained separately, and the GNU project
doesn't tend to be heavy-handed about imposing structure from above.

They do try and make recommendations and set some standards where it
seems useful, thus the "GNU coding standards".

One part of the GNU coding standards is a list of existing command-line
options; if you write a new program or add a new option, it's a good
idea to try and find an existing option which fits, and use that.

If you have the info manual for the GNU coding standards installed, you
can look at the info node  "(standards) Option Table" to see it.
E.g., in Emacs, do "C-h i g (standards) Option Table RET"]

-Miles

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