lua_altgetopt is a MIT-licenced module for Lua programming language for processing application's arguments the same way BSD/GNU getopt_long(3) functions do. Main features and goals: 1) compatibility to SUS "Utility Syntax Guidelines" http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/basedefs/xbd_chap12.html#tag_12_02 guidelines 3-13. 2) This module is for plain Lua 2) No extra dependencies 3) No hooks, no functional tricks ;-) 4) Support for long options, e.g. compatibility with getopt_long(3) C function present in *BSD and GNU libc. 5) Long options may optionally have one-char synonym or other long synonym 6) Strict error checking (checks for an incorrect use of options) 7) alt_getopt.lua is a Lua module. In particular alt_getopt.lua supports the following -kVALUE, -k VALUE, --key=VALUE, --key VALUE, -abcd is equivalent to -a -b -c -d if neither of them accept value. All options must be declared as accepting value or not. Two ways of options handling are provided. See alt_getopt application which is a part of regression tests. Makefile: It's probably useless for end users, you can copy alt_getopt.lua to the destination yourself. Otherwise use BSD make, NetBSD make is preferred because NetBSD is my development platform. If 'make test' fails on your platform/Lua, please let me know. If you find a a bug, register it here http://luaforge.net/project/lua_altgetopt or send me bugreport directly. Author: Aleksey Cheusov