parsing command line arguments in bash

gistfile1.sh

function usage() {
    echo ".$0 --argument=foo --argument-two=bar"
    exit 1
} 

while [ "$1" != "" ]; do 
    param=${1%=*} 
    value=${1#*=} 
    case $param in
        --argument)     argument=$value 
                        ;; 
        --argument-two) argument_two=$value 
                        ;; 
        * )             usage
                        ;; 
    esac 
    shift 
done

@nmilford the pain of getopts is that single variable options are cryptic. They work great for tools like grep that are used by a million people, but they are absolutely terrible for custom scripts. long args foster clear and descriptive (translation: useful) shell scripts.