xacto 0.6.2

Generate command-line interfaces (CLI) by introspecting callables

Xacto

a typelib and CLI analyzer/generator

Introspect, compose, marshal and export arbitrary callables into a unified, hierarchical, command-line interface (CLI)

Features

auto-find tools scan signatures and export as CLI node if default is callable, call it to setup arg

Why

FAST! EASY! natural import usage! –help is decent-ish with types/etc! AH!

Quickstart

1. Install:

   # pip install xacto

2. Run:

   # ln -s /path/to/bin/xacto do

3. Create python file at tools/work.py:

   __all__ = ["easy", "hard"]
   #__xacto__ = {...}
   
   def easy(method, speed=16, *tasks):
       print(locals())
   #easy.__xacto__ = {...}
   
   def hard(method, speed=32, *tasks, **params):
       print(locals())
   #hard.__xacto__ = {...}

4. Run:

   # ./do work easy --method=never task1 task2

5. Run:

   # ./do work hard --speed=64 --method=cheat --code=iddqd taskN

Limitations

• true/false quirkyness (default=True means –default flips to False)

• can’t handle lists (–arg a b c –other …)

TODO

• RELEASE!

• setuptools

• symlink to binary to create new

• testing: set-like functions, import semantics.. everything

• handle bools better

• handle lists (–arg a b c –other …)

• detect output

• standard output structure

• prettify to tty

• lazy load tools

• lazy import globals (cpython)

• bytecode cache

• argument forwarding/chaining

• integrate with zippy.shell

• tab-completion

• auto-reduce common components for aliases

• bind tools to xacto object (eg. celery/waf)