GNU bug report logs - #13737
Add -h option to 'users'

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Message #15 received at 13737 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: anatoly techtonik <techtonik <at> gmail.com>
To: Bob Proulx <bob <at> proulx.com>
Cc: 13737 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#13737: Add -h option to 'users'
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:31:36 +0300

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On Mon, Feb 18, 2013 at 8:45 AM, Bob Proulx <bob <at> proulx.com> wrote:

> severity 13737 wishlist
> tag 13737 + wontfix
> thanks
>
> anatoly techtonik wrote:
> > It is very inconvenient to type --help every time when you need to read
> > help. It will be useful to have -h shortcut (a de-facto standard in a
> > Python world and probably scripts in other languages).
>
> You can already use "--h" as a short abreviation for "--help" since
> that is a unique combination.
>

I don't understand your argument about "unique combination". The main issue
is that people like me expect -h to work as a --help shortcut. They don't
have a chance to know "--h" without reading the docs, so --h is not useful.
And by the way - this --h is not documented.


>   $ users --h
>
> Give that a try and please report back your comments concerning it.


Above.

The bar for adding new short options to the utilities is very high.
>

Sorry, but it is an argument. It will be interesting to know why though.


> Also the users command doesn't have a complicated usage syntax.


Actually, it is. I expected it to give me this information:
cut -d: -f1,3 /etc/passwd | egrep ':[0-9]{4}$' | cut -d: -f1

But it gives something else, so to understand what it actually does, I have
to read the help. This is a complicated usage, because it is possible to
have one step faster help access instead of two step. This also have a
complicated usage (not "usage syntax"), because it doesn't match to the
users expectations towards shell command.

To confirm that argument we'd have to run the poll - if the users expect -h
to work as --help by default. Do you know where we can run it? Does Debian
provide any kind of voting system for users/contributors?

 In
> order to add -h it would need a pretty strong justification.
> Therefore I have tagged this as a wishlist and wontfix as a default
> answer unless there is an opposition champion.
>

I am here. =)

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