option
option — An option for a software command.
Synopsis
option ::= × ⏵
- Zero or more of:
- text
 replaceable- Graphic inlines ⏵
 - Indexing inlines ⏵
 - Linking inlines ⏵
 - Ubiquitous inlines ⏵
 
 
Attributes
Common attributes and common linking attributes.
No additional attributes.
Description
An option identifies an argument to a software
command or instruction. Options may or may not be required.
The
optional element can be used to explicitly identify options
that are not required.
Processing expectations
Formatted inline.
DocBook does not specify whether or not a symbol (such as
- or /) is generated before the
content of option, or what that symbol might be. Generating
the text may or may not be desirable, but in either case, it is an
interchange issue. See Appendix D, Interchanging DocBook Documents.
Attributes
Common attributes and common linking attributes.
- any attribute
 Any attribute in any other explicit namespace
Parents
57 elements contain option. × ⏵
Children
29 elements occur in option. × ⏵
See Also
Related elements: computeroutput, constant, literal, markup, optional, parameter, prompt, replaceable, tag, userinput, varname.
Examples
1 |<article xmlns='http://docbook.org/ns/docbook'>|<title>Example option</title>||<para>The <option>-a</option> option on the <acronym>UNIX</acronym>5 |<command>ls</command> command or the <option>/r</option> option on the|<acronym>DOS</acronym> <command>attrib</command>|command, for example.|</para>|10 |</article>
The -a option on the UNIX
ls command or the /r option on the
DOS attrib
command, for example.