Copyedit pass over args library description; fixed some example code

pkg/args/lib/args.dart

Index: pkg/args/lib/args.dart
diff --git a/pkg/args/lib/args.dart b/pkg/args/lib/args.dart
index 09506546325dba30e432e393dbe4055ac669bb89..e75d824d199e645db595330a99813a3349262c3a 100644
--- a/pkg/args/lib/args.dart
+++ b/pkg/args/lib/args.dart
@@ -3,53 +3,53 @@
 // BSD-style license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
 
 /**
- * This library lets you define parsers for parsing raw command-line arguments
- * into a set of options and values using [GNU][] and [POSIX][] style options.
+ * Parser support for transforming raw command-line arguments
+ * into a set of options and values.

[Bob Nystrom, 2013/08/27 17:58:10]

I know it's a chore, but can you word wrap these docs at 80 characters in the
source. People read this documentation in the code as well as through dartdoc,
so it should be as pleasant to read in both forms as possible.

[Kathy Walrath, 2013/08/28 08:00:59]

How strongly do you feel about that? I'm willing to do it, but I usually break
on phrases so that future changes involve fewer lines and have diffs that are
easier to read.

For me, shorter lines that break on phrases are at least as easy to read as
80-character lines, but other people's mmv.

[Bob Nystrom, 2013/08/28 17:00:11]

Pretty strongly. The main reason I pushed for markdown was because it looks nice
in plaintext form. Users read documentation in code as much (or more than) in
generated form, so it should be as beautiful there as possible.

I maintain nicely-word-wrapped-at-80-columns for all of the docs in the packages
I maintain. It's not too much of a headache.

  *
- * ## Installing ##
+ * This library supports
+ * [GNU][] and [POSIX][] style options,
+ * and it works in both server-side and client-side apps.
  *
- * Use [pub][] to install this package. Add the following to your `pubspec.yaml`
- * file.
+ * For information on installing and importing this library, see the
+ * [args package on pub.dartlang.org]
+ * (http://pub.dartlang.org/packages/args).
  *
- *     dependencies:
- *       args: any
+ * ## Defining options
  *
- * Then run `pub install`.
- *
- * For more information, see the
- * [args package on pub.dartlang.org](http://pub.dartlang.org/packages/args).
- *
- * ## Defining options ##
- *
- * To use this library, you create an [ArgParser] object which will contain
+ * To use this library, first create an [ArgParser] object to contain
  * the set of options you support:

[Bob Nystrom, 2013/08/27 17:58:10]

You mention "set of options" on the next sentence too. How about just "To use
this library, first create an [ArgParser]."

[Kathy Walrath, 2013/08/28 08:00:59]

Done.

  *
  *     var parser = new ArgParser();
  *
- * Then you define a set of options on that parser using [addOption()] and
- * [addFlag()]. The minimal way to create an option is:
+ * Then define a set of options on that parser using [addOption()] and
+ * [addFlag()]. Here's the minimal way to create an option named "name":
  *
  *     parser.addOption('name');
  *
- * This creates an option named "name". Options must be given a value on the
- * command line. If you have a simple on/off flag, you can instead use:
+ * For a simple on-off option, you can instead use a flag:

[Bob Nystrom, 2013/08/27 17:58:10]

This is a bit confusing because it makes it seem like flags are just a
lighter-weight way to create options. They aren't: options take values and flags
don't. I think the previous text was clearer here.

[Kathy Walrath, 2013/08/28 08:00:59]

Done.

  *
  *     parser.addFlag('name');
  *
- * Flag options will, by default, accept a 'no-' prefix to negate the option.
- * This can be disabled like so:
+ * Flag options, by default, accept a 'no-' prefix to negate the option.
+ * You can disable the 'no-' prefix using the `negatable` parameter:
  *
  *     parser.addFlag('name', negatable: false);
  *
- * (From here on out "option" will refer to both "regular" options and flags.
- * In cases where the distinction matters, we'll use "non-flag option".)
+ * **Terminology note:**
+ * From here on out, the term _option_ refers to
+ * both regular options and flags.
+ * In cases where the distinction matters,
+ * this documentation uses the term _non-flag option._
  *
- * Options may have an optional single-character abbreviation:
+ * Options can have an optional single-character abbreviation,
+ * specified with the `abbr` parameter:
  *
  *     parser.addOption('mode', abbr: 'm');
  *     parser.addFlag('verbose', abbr: 'v');
  *
- * They may also specify a default value. The default value will be used if the
+ * Options can also have a default value,
+ * specified with the `defaultsTo` parameter.
+ * The default value is used when the
  * option isn't provided:

[Bob Nystrom, 2013/08/27 17:58:10]

"option isn't provided" is a bit unclear. It could mean not provided in the
arguments, or in the setup for the ArgParser itself. How about "arguments do not
provide a value for the option"?

[Kathy Walrath, 2013/08/28 08:00:59]

Done.

  *
  *     parser.addOption('mode', defaultsTo: 'debug');
@@ -58,86 +58,92 @@
  * The default value for non-flag options can be any [String]. For flags, it
  * must be a [bool].
  *
- * To validate non-flag options, you may provide an allowed set of values. When
- * you do, it will throw a [FormatException] when you parse the arguments if
- * the value for an option is not in the allowed set:
+ * To validate a non-flag option,
+ * you can use the `allowed` parameter
+ * to provide an allowed set of values. When
+ * you do, a [FormatException] occurs during parsing if

[Bob Nystrom, 2013/08/27 17:58:10]

"occurs" is vague and passive. How about "the parse throws a [FormatException]"?

[Kathy Walrath, 2013/08/28 08:00:59]

Done.

+ * the value for an option is not in the allowed set.
+ * Here's an example of specifying allowed values:
  *
  *     parser.addOption('mode', allowed: ['debug', 'release']);
  *
- * You can provide a callback when you define an option. When you later parse
- * a set of arguments, the callback for that option will be invoked with the
- * value provided for it:
+ * You can use the `callback` parameter
+ * to associate a function with an option. Later, when
+ * parsing occurs, the callback function is invoked with the
+ * value of the option:
  *
  *     parser.addOption('mode', callback: (mode) => print('Got mode $mode));
  *     parser.addFlag('verbose', callback: (verbose) {
  *       if (verbose) print('Verbose');
  *     });
  *
- * The callback for each option will *always* be called when you parse a set of
- * arguments. If the option isn't provided in the args, the callback will be
- * passed the default value, or `null` if there is none set.
+ * The callback for each option is *always* called when a set of arguments

[Bob Nystrom, 2013/08/27 17:58:10]

This might be clearer plural: "the callbacks for each option are *always*
called..."

[Kathy Walrath, 2013/08/28 08:00:59]

Done.

+ * is parsed. If the option isn't provided in the args, the callback is
+ * passed the default value, or `null` if no default value is set.
  *
- * ## Parsing arguments ##
+ * ## Parsing arguments
  *
  * Once you have an [ArgParser] set up with some options and flags, you use it
  * by calling [ArgParser.parse()] with a set of arguments:
  *
  *     var results = parser.parse(['some', 'command', 'line', 'args']);
  *
- * These will usually come from `new Options().arguments`, but you can pass in
- * any list of strings. It returns an instance of [ArgResults]. This is a
- * map-like object that will return the value of any parsed option.
+ * These arguments usually come from dart:io's Options class
+ * (`new Options().arguments`),
+ * but you can pass in any list of strings.
+ * The parse()) method returns an instance of [ArgResults],
+ * a map-like object that returns the value of any parsed option.

[Bob Nystrom, 2013/08/27 17:58:10]

"returns..." -> "contains the values of the parsed options".

[Kathy Walrath, 2013/08/28 08:00:59]

Done.

  *
  *     var parser = new ArgParser();
  *     parser.addOption('mode');
  *     parser.addFlag('verbose', defaultsTo: true);
- *     var results = parser.parse('['--mode', 'debug', 'something', 'else']);
+ *     var results = parser.parse(['--mode', 'debug', 'something', 'else']);
  *
  *     print(results['mode']); // debug
  *     print(results['verbose']); // true
  *
- * The [parse()] method will stop as soon as it reaches `--` or anything that
- * it doesn't recognize as an option, flag, or option value. If there are still
- * arguments left, they will be provided to you in
+ * The parse() method stops as soon as it reaches `--` by itself
+ * or anything that it doesn't recognize as an option, flag, or option value.
+ * If arguments still remain, they go into
  * [ArgResults.rest].
  *
  *     print(results.rest); // ['something', 'else']

[Bob Nystrom, 2013/08/27 17:58:10]

This is no longer always the case. If you call parse() with
"allowTrailingOptions: true", it will continue to parse options found after
non-option arguments.

[Kathy Walrath, 2013/08/28 08:00:59]

Done.

  *
- * ## Specifying options ##
+ * ## Specifying options
  *
  * To actually pass in options and flags on the command line, use GNU or POSIX
- * style. If you define an option like:
+ * style. Consider this option:
  *
  *     parser.addOption('name', abbr: 'n');
  *
- * Then a value for it can be specified on the command line using any of:
+ * You can specify its value on the command line using any of the following:
  *
  *     --name=somevalue
  *     --name somevalue
  *     -nsomevalue
  *     -n somevalue
  *
- * Given this flag:
+ * Consider this flag:
  *
  *     parser.addFlag('name', abbr: 'n');
  *
- * You can set it on using one of:
+ * You can set it to true using one of the following:
  *
  *     --name
  *     -n
  *
- * Or set it off using:
+ * You can set it to false using the following:
  *
  *     --no-name
  *
- * Multiple flag abbreviation can also be collapsed into a single argument. If
- * you define:
+ * Multiple flag abbreviations can be collapsed into a single argument.
+ * Say you define these flags:
  *
  *     parser.addFlag('verbose', abbr: 'v');
  *     parser.addFlag('french', abbr: 'f');
  *     parser.addFlag('iambic-pentameter', abbr: 'i');
  *
- * Then all three flags could be set using:
+ * You can set all three flags at once:
  *
  *     -vfi
  *
@@ -149,9 +155,9 @@
  *     var results = parser.parse(['--mode', 'on', '--mode', 'off']);
  *     print(results['mode']); // prints 'off'
  *
- * If you need multiple values, set the [allowMultiple] flag. In that
- * case the option can occur multiple times and when parsing arguments a
- * List of values will be returned:
+ * If you need multiple values, set the `allowMultiple` parameter. In that
+ * case the option can occur multiple times, and the parse() method returns a
+ * list of values:
  *
  *     var parser = new ArgParser();
  *     parser.addOption('mode', allowMultiple: true);
@@ -161,67 +167,71 @@
  * ## Defining commands ##
  *
  * In addition to *options*, you can also define *commands*. A command is a
- * named argument that has its own set of options. For example, when you run:
+ * named argument that has its own set of options. For example,
+ * consider this shell command:
  *
  *     $ git commit -a
  *
  * The executable is `git`, the command is `commit`, and the `-a` option is an
- * option passed to the command. You can add a command like so:
+ * option passed to the command. You can add a command using
+ * the [addCommand] method:
  *
  *     var parser = new ArgParser();
  *     var command = parser.addCommand('commit');
  *
- * It returns another [ArgParser] which you can then use to define options
+ * The addCommand() method
+ * returns another [ArgParser], which you can then use to define options
  * specific to that command. If you already have an [ArgParser] for the
- * command's options, you can pass it to [addCommand]:
+ * command's options, you can pass it to addCommand:
  *
  *     var parser = new ArgParser();
  *     var command = new ArgParser();
  *     parser.addCommand('commit', command);
  *
- * The [ArgParser] for a command can then define whatever options or flags:
+ * The [ArgParser] for a command can then define options or flags:
  *
  *     command.addFlag('all', abbr: 'a');
  *
  * You can add multiple commands to the same parser so that a user can select
- * one from a range of possible commands. When an argument list is parsed,
+ * one from a range of possible commands. When parsing an argument list,
  * you can then determine which command was entered and what options were
  * provided for it.
  *
  *     var results = parser.parse(['commit', '-a']);
- *     print(results.command.name); // "commit"
- *     print(results.command['a']); // true
+ *     print(results.command.name);   // "commit"
+ *     print(results.command['all']); // true
  *
  * Options for a command must appear after the command in the argument list.
  * For example, given the above parser, "git -a commit" is *not* valid. The
- * parser will try to find the right-most command that accepts an option. For
+ * parser tries to find the right-most command that accepts an option. For
  * example:
  *
  *     var parser = new ArgParser();
  *     parser.addFlag('all', abbr: 'a');
- *     var command = new ArgParser().addCommand('commit');
- *     parser.addFlag('all', abbr: 'a');
+ *     var command = parser.addCommand('commit');
+ *     command.addFlag('all', abbr: 'a');
+ *
  *     var results = parser.parse(['commit', '-a']);
- *     print(results.command['a']); // true
+ *     print(results.command['all']); // true
  *
  * Here, both the top-level parser and the "commit" command can accept a "-a"
  * (which is probably a bad command line interface, admittedly). In that case,
- * when "-a" appears after "commit", it will be applied to that command. If it
- * appears to the left of "commit", it will be given to the top-level parser.
+ * when "-a" appears after "commit", it is applied to that command. If it
+ * appears to the left of "commit", it is given to the top-level parser.
  *
- * ## Displaying usage ##
+ * ## Displaying usage
  *
- * This library can also be used to automatically generate nice usage help
+ * This library can automatically generate nice usage help
  * text like you get when you run a program with `--help`. To use this, you
- * will also want to provide some help text when you create your options. To
- * define help text for the entire option, do:
+ * should provide some help text when you create your options. To
+ * define help text for an entire option, use the `help` parameter:
  *
  *     parser.addOption('mode', help: 'The compiler configuration',
  *         allowed: ['debug', 'release']);
  *     parser.addFlag('verbose', help: 'Show additional diagnostic info');
  *
  * For non-flag options, you can also provide detailed help for each expected
- * value using a map:
+ * value by using the `allowedHelp` parameter:
  *
  *     parser.addOption('arch', help: 'The architecture to compile for',
  *         allowedHelp: {
@@ -229,11 +239,11 @@
  *           'arm': 'ARM Holding 32-bit chip'
  *         });
  *
- * If you define a set of options like the above, then calling this:
+ * To display the help, use the ArgParser getUsage() method:
  *
  *     print(parser.getUsage());
- *
- * Will display something like:
+ * 
+ * The resulting string looks something like this:
  *
  *     --mode            The compiler configuration
  *                       [debug, release]
@@ -244,14 +254,13 @@
  *           [arm]       ARM Holding 32-bit chip
  *           [ia32]      Intel x86
  *
- * To assist the formatting of the usage help, single line help text will
- * be followed by a single new line. Options with multi-line help text
- * will be followed by two new lines. This provides spatial diversity between
+ * To assist the formatting of the usage help, single-line help text
+ * is followed by a single new line. Options with multi-line help text
+ * are followed by two new lines. This provides spatial diversity between
  * options.
  *
  * [posix]: http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/basedefs/xbd_chap12.html#tag_12_02
  * [gnu]: http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/standards.html#Command_002dLine-Interfaces
- * [pub]: http://pub.dartlang.org
  */
 library args;