POSIX defines a convention for utility argument syntax (Oddly enough they seem to have forgotten to put spaces between the ]
and following [
groupings, like they do on actual utility description pages (for example command
and find
)):
- "Arguments or option-arguments enclosed in the '
[
' and ']
' notation are optional and can be omitted." In consequence, "un-enclosed" ("declosed?") arguments are mandatory. "Frequently, names of parameters that require substitution by actual values are shown with embedded underscores. Alternatively, parameters are shown as follows:
<parameter name>
"
- "Arguments separated by the '
|
' vertical bar notation are mutually-exclusive." - "Ellipses ( "
...
" ) are used to denote that one or more occurrences of an option or operand are allowed."