4.1.1 Synopsis Items

Look again at the synopsis definition provided in Quick Start.

(defsynopsis (:postfix "FILES...")
  (text :contents "A very short program.")
  (group (:header "Immediate exit options:")
    (flag :short-name "h" :long-name "help"
          :description "Print this help and exit.")
    (flag :short-name "v" :long-name "version"
          :description "Print version number and exit.")))

You define a synopsis with the defsynopsis macro.

Macro: defsynopsis ([OPTIONS…]) ITEMS…

Define a new synopsis and return it. OPTIONS are key/value pairs. ITEMS are text, group or option descriptions.

The following OPTIONS are currently available.

:postfix

A string which will appear at the end of the synopsis line in the help string. When you provide a postfix, you also implicitely tell Clon that your application accepts non-option arguments at the end of the command-line (this is called the remainder of the command-line). See Option Separator in The Clon End-User Manual for more information on the behavior of Clon with respect to postfixes. Also, see Command-Line Remainder on how to access the command-line remainder.

We now examine the syntax for each possible ITEM.