Syslinux - Dec 2014 - raid long option

In Syslinux 6.03 -> libinstaller/syslxopt.c:


 #n 50: const struct option long_options[] = {
...
 #n 60:     {"raid-mode", 0, NULL, 'r'},
...
 #n105:     fprintf(stderr,
...
 #n112:	    "  --raid       -r  Fall back to the next device on boot
failure\n"


Comparing line #60 vs. line #112:
http://git.kernel.org/cgit/boot/syslinux/syslinux.git/tree/libinstaller/syslxopt.c?id=syslinux-6.03#n60
http://git.kernel.org/cgit/boot/syslinux/syslinux.git/tree/libinstaller/syslxopt.c?id=syslinux-6.03#n112

Which one is the correct "long" option for users to type in?
Is it "--raid-mode", or "--raid"?

FWIW, I have always seen "--raid" in user's documentation 
(wiki, manpages, text docs...), but the "--raid-mode" term 
has been present for a long time (e.g. v.3.86 in a different 
source code file, probably prior versions too).

TIA,
Ady.

Ady <ady-sf at hotmail.com> writes:
> In Syslinux 6.03 -> libinstaller/syslxopt.c:
>
>
>  #n 50: const struct option long_options[] = {
> ...
>  #n 60:     {"raid-mode", 0, NULL, 'r'},
> ...
>  #n105:     fprintf(stderr,
> ...
>  #n112:	    "  --raid       -r  Fall back to the next device on boot
failure\n"
>
>
> Comparing line #60 vs. line #112:
>
http://git.kernel.org/cgit/boot/syslinux/syslinux.git/tree/libinstaller/syslxopt.c?id=syslinux-6.03#n60
>
http://git.kernel.org/cgit/boot/syslinux/syslinux.git/tree/libinstaller/syslxopt.c?id=syslinux-6.03#n112
>
> Which one is the correct "long" option for users to type in?
> Is it "--raid-mode", or "--raid"?
--raid-mode is the full long option name, but the GNU getopt_long
implementation accepts unique abbreviations for long options, so
--ra, --rai, --raid, --raid- etc. are all valid usages.
I think the -mode part is just unnecessary verbosity and could be
dropped without affecting users, as it is never mentioned outside
the code base.
-- 
Regards,
Feri.

> Ady <ady-sf at hotmail.com> writes:
> 
> > In Syslinux 6.03 -> libinstaller/syslxopt.c:
> >
> >
> >  #n 50: const struct option long_options[] = {
> > ...
> >  #n 60:     {"raid-mode", 0, NULL, 'r'},
> > ...
> >  #n105:     fprintf(stderr,
> > ...
> >  #n112:	    "  --raid       -r  Fall back to the next device on
boot failure\n"
> >
> >
> > Comparing line #60 vs. line #112:
> >
http://git.kernel.org/cgit/boot/syslinux/syslinux.git/tree/libinstaller/syslxopt.c?id=syslinux-6.03#n60
> >
http://git.kernel.org/cgit/boot/syslinux/syslinux.git/tree/libinstaller/syslxopt.c?id=syslinux-6.03#n112
> >
> > Which one is the correct "long" option for users to type in?
> > Is it "--raid-mode", or "--raid"?
> 
> --raid-mode is the full long option name, but the GNU getopt_long
> implementation accepts unique abbreviations for long options, so
> --ra, --rai, --raid, --raid- etc. are all valid usages.
> I think the -mode part is just unnecessary verbosity and could be
> dropped without affecting users, as it is never mentioned outside
> the code base.
> -- 
> Regards,
> Feri.
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> 
Thank you for your explanation.

At least now I know that both terms should work (and anything in 
between), since currently there is no other long option starting with 
"--raid".

Considering that the term "--raid-mode" has survived so many years, 
even before the existence of the "libinstaller/syslxopt.c" file (the 
term used to be used in other file(s), before the unification of the 
options in syslxopt.c), then perhaps Peter (hpa) has had some reason to 
keep it that way; or at least some reason to have used such term in the 
beginning (while documenting it in the same file(s) differently).

In any case, I cannot avoid being curious about the reason :).

Thank you,
Ady.