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optparse Module

The optparse module provides option parsing functionality (deprecated in favor of argparse but still used in legacy code).

Complexity Reference

Operation Time Space Notes
OptionParser.parse_args() O(n) avg, O(n·m) worst O(n) n = args, m = long options (abbr matching)
Add option O(1) O(1) Register option

Parsing Options

Basic Option Parsing

import optparse

# Create parser - O(1)
parser = optparse.OptionParser()

# Add options - O(1) each
parser.add_option("-f", "--file", dest="filename")
parser.add_option("-v", "--verbose", action="store_true")

# Parse arguments - O(n) average; O(n·m) worst-case with long option abbreviations
(options, args) = parser.parse_args()

print(options.filename)
print(options.verbose)