tar: Short Options

1 
1 3.3.2 Short Option Style
1 ------------------------
1 
1 Most options also have a "short option" name.  Short options start with
1 a single dash, and are followed by a single character, e.g., '-t' (which
1 is equivalent to '--list').  The forms are absolutely identical in
1 function; they are interchangeable.
1 
1    The short option names are faster to type than long option names.
1 
1    Short options which require arguments take their arguments
1 immediately following the option, usually separated by white space.  It
1 is also possible to stick the argument right after the short option
1 name, using no intervening space.  For example, you might write
1 '-f archive.tar' or '-farchive.tar' instead of using
1 '--file=archive.tar'.  Both '--file=ARCHIVE-NAME' and '-f ARCHIVE-NAME'
1 denote the option which indicates a specific archive, here named
1 'archive.tar'.
1 
1    Short options which take optional arguments take their arguments
1 immediately following the option letter, _without any intervening white
1 space characters_.
1 
1    Short options' letters may be clumped together, but you are not
1 required to do this (as compared to old options; see below).  When short
1 options are clumped as a set, use one (single) dash for them all, e.g.,
1 ''tar' -cvf'.  Only the last option in such a set is allowed to have an
1 argument(1).
1 
1    When the options are separated, the argument for each option which
1 requires an argument directly follows that option, as is usual for Unix
1 programs.  For example:
1 
1      $ tar -c -v -b 20 -f /dev/rmt0
1 
1    If you reorder short options' locations, be sure to move any
1 arguments that belong to them.  If you do not move the arguments
1 properly, you may end up overwriting files.
1 
1    ---------- Footnotes ----------
1 
1    (1) Clustering many options, the last of which has an argument, is a
1 rather opaque way to write options.  Some wonder if GNU 'getopt' should
1 not even be made helpful enough for considering such usages as invalid.
1