getopts does not match the second argument

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                          I'm trying to get a script to:

* set a variable with -q option
* show help for -h option, and
* fail for other options -*, but allow positional arguments

Here is the getopts snippet I'm using:

    while getopts qh opt; do
        case "${opt}" in
            q)
                quiet="true"
                ;;
            h)
                usage
                exit 1
                ;;
            \?)
                echo "unrecognized option -- ${OPTARG}"
                exit 1
                ;;
        esac
        shift
    done
    
    echo "unparsed: $*"

This seems pretty straightforward. However it only works if I provide a single argument (a.sh -q or a.sh -h do what's expected).

However, it does not do anything if I provide both arguments, or provide an unrecognized argument as at $2:

    $ ./a.sh -b
    unrecognized option -- b
    
    $ ./a.sh -q -b
    unparsed: -b
    
    $ ./a.sh -h -k
    this is my help message
    unparsed: -k

Any ideas why the second argument ($2) is not handled in the getopts loop?
                        

Asked by ahmet alp balkan (741 rep)

Oct 8, 2017, 05:11 AM
Last activity: Dec 18, 2023, 09:25 AM

getopts does not match the second argument

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