[Bug other/31349] [4.3 Regression] gcc -v --help returns no options for C, C++

["nickc at redhat dot com" <gcc-bugzilla at gcc dot gnu dot org>]

------- Comment #7 from nickc at redhat dot com  2007-07-04 13:40 -------
Subject: Re:  [4.3 Regression] gcc -v --help returns no options
 for C, C++

Hi Brooks,

> So, if I understand correctly: all of the options are listed somewhere, but we
> no longer provide any information about which of the shared options under 
> "language related options" are supported by a given language's front end?

Correct.

Well by default anyway.  See below.

> While this may have been intentional, I do not think it counts as a feature -
> the listing of the "common" options without definitions at the top of the
> option listing did not take up a significant amount of space, and it provided
> very useful information that's now absent.

OK.

> (On the other hand, moving the _descriptions_ of the shared options to a single
> listing is a good thing, IMO -- I want to make it clear that I'm not objecting
> to the bulk of this change!)

You can find out all the options supported by a given language, 
including the ones that it shares with other languages and including 
those that do not have a description by using the --help=<language> 
feature.  For example:

   % gcc --help=java
   The following options are supported by the language Java:
   -I                          This switch lacks documentation
   -M                          This switch lacks documentation
   -MD_                        This switch lacks documentation
   -MF                         This switch lacks documentation
   -MM                         This switch lacks documentation
   -MMD_                       This switch lacks documentation
   -MP                         This switch lacks documentation
   -MT                         This switch lacks documentation
   -Wall                       This switch lacks documentation
   -Wall-deprecation           This switch lacks documentation
   -Wall-javadoc               This switch lacks documentation
   -Wassert-identifier         This switch lacks documentation
   -Wchar-concat               This switch lacks documentation
   -Wcondition-assign          This switch lacks documentation
   -Wconstructor-name          This switch lacks documentation
   -Wdep-ann                   This switch lacks documentation
   -Wdeprecated                Warn if a deprecated compiler feature, class,
                               method, or field is used
   [etc...]

So I think that the bone of contention here is what should be listed by 
"--help -v".  I think that leaving out options which have no description 
is a good default.  If for no other reason than to encourage people to 
write descriptions for the options so that they are then listed in the 
--help output.

Do you still feel that "--help -v" should list undocumented options ?

Cheers
   Nick


-- 


http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=31349