You can add more option rules in addition to those you specified in the Zend_Console_Getopt constructor, using the addRules() method. The argument to addRules() is the same as the first argument to the class constructor. It is either a string in the format of the short syntax options specification, or else an associative array in the format of a long syntax options specification. See Declaring Getopt Rules for details on the syntax for specifying options.

The example above shows adding the --verbose option with an alias of -v to a set of options defined in the call to the constructor. Notice that you can mix short format options and long format options in the same instance of Zend_Console_Getopt.

In addition to specifying the help strings when declaring option rules in the long format, you can associate help strings with option rules using the setHelp() method. The argument to the setHelp() method is an associative array, in which the key is a flag, and the value is a corresponding help string.

If you declared options with aliases, you can use any of the aliases as the key of the associative array.

The setHelp() method is the only way to define help strings if you declared the options using the short syntax.

You can declare aliases for options using the setAliases() method. The argument is an associative array, whose key is a flag string declared previously, and whose value is a new alias for that flag. These aliases are merged with any existing aliases. In other words, aliases you declared earlier are still in effect.

An alias may be declared only once. If you try to redefine an alias, a Zend_Console_Getopt_Exception is thrown.

In the example above, after declaring these aliases, -a, --apple and --apfel are aliases for each other. Also -p and --pear are aliases for each other.

The setAliases() method is the only way to define aliases if you declared the options using the short syntax.

By default, Zend_Console_Getopt uses $_SERVER['argv'] for the array of command-line arguments to parse. You can alternatively specify the array of arguments as the second constructor argument. Finally, you can append more arguments to those already used using the addArguments() method, or you can replace the current array of arguments using the setArguments() method. In both cases, the parameter to these methods is a simple array of strings. The former method appends the array to the current arguments, and the latter method substitutes the array for the current arguments.

The third parameter to the Zend_Console_Getopt constructor is an array of configuration options that affect the behavior of the object instance returned. You can also specify configuration options using the setOptions() method, or you can set an individual option using the setOption() method.

Note: Clarifying the Term "option"
The term "option" is used for configuration of the Zend_Console_Getopt class to match terminology used elsewhere in Zend Framework. These are not the same things as the command-line options that are parsed by the Zend_Console_Getopt class.

The currently supported options have const definitions in the class. The options, their const identifiers (with literal values in parentheses) are listed below:

• Zend_Console_Getopt::CONFIG_DASHDASH ("dashDash"), if TRUE, enables the special flag -- to signify the end of flags. Command-line arguments following the double-dash signifier are not interpreted as options, even if the arguments start with a dash. This configuration option is TRUE by default.

• Zend_Console_Getopt::CONFIG_IGNORECASE ("ignoreCase"), if TRUE, makes flags aliases of each other if they differ only in their case. That is, -a and -A will be considered to be synonymous flags. This configuration option is FALSE by default.

• Zend_Console_Getopt::CONFIG_RULEMODE ("ruleMode") may have values Zend_Console_Getopt::MODE_ZEND ("zend") and Zend_Console_Getopt::MODE_GNU ("gnu"). It should not be necessary to use this option unless you extend the class with additional syntax forms. The two modes supported in the base Zend_Console_Getopt class are unambiguous. If the specifier is a string, the class assumes MODE_GNU, otherwise it assumes MODE_ZEND. But if you extend the class and add more syntax forms, you may need to specify the mode using this option.

More configuration options may be added as future enhancements of this class.

The two arguments to the setOption() method are a configuration option name and an option value.

The argument to the setOptions() method is an associative array. The keys of this array are the configuration option names, and the values are configuration values. This is also the array format used in the class constructor. The configuration values you specify are merged with the current configuration; you don't have to list all options.