Bash Option Parser

A simple library that handles the storage and retrieval of simple text options for use in BASH

Configuration

There are a couple of configuration options that the parser uses, they must be defined before it is run:

Use

# Include the library
. /path/to/option-parser.sh

# Set any config variables you need
OPT_FILE="$HOME/.my_config"
OPT_COMMENT="#"
OPT_FILE_CREATE_IF_MISSING=true
OPT_PERSIST_CHANGES=true

# Call the parser
optParser

# Get an option
optionValue=$(optValue "MyOptionName")

# Set an option
optWrite "MyOptionName" "Testing"

OPT_FILE

The path to the file in which you want the options to be stored

OPT_COMMENT

The character(s) that denote the start of a comment line. Defaults to #

OPT_FILE_CREATE_IF_MISSING

Whether the option file should be created if when we try and write to the option file it does not exist. Defaults to true

OPT_PERSIST_CHANGES

Whether requests to change or add options are made the changes should be committed to the option file. Defaults to true

Option File Format

The options are stored in the following format:

optionName=optionvalue
#commentedOption=TestValue
quoted="some long string"
whiteSpaceTolerance = myValue
	tabbedOption="Tab all the options"
	#Tabbed Comments are ok to