🚀 go-pugleaf

Please tell me which of these two syntaxes you prefer for long options:

   `--' as a prefix, as in
	ls --recursive --reverse
   	diff --context=2

   `-=' as a prefix, as in
	ls -=recursive -=reverse
   	diff -=context=2

Issues to consider:

* How easy is it to type each of these alternatives.

* How error-prone are they.

* How esthetically clean are they.

**Please don't reply to me.**  Send your reply to
long-option-poll@gnu.ai.mit.edu.


Note that there is no conflict, strictly speaking, between the use of
`--' as a prefix for long options and use of `--' by itself as the
"end of options" marker.  For example:

       ls --format=long --directory -- --directory

is unambiguous: it makes a listing of the attributes of the directory
named `--directory'.


By the way, in evaluating the usefulness of long options, people
should keep in mind that they can be abbreviated:

	ls --fo=l --d -- --directory

In the GNU system we will eventually have facilities for completion of
option names.