New poll on long options

[Richard Stallman]

Please tell me which of these two syntaxes you prefer for long options:

`--' as a prefix, as in
ls --recursive --reverse
diff --context=2

`-=' as a prefix, as in
ls -=recursive -=reverse
diff -=context=2

Issues to consider:

* How easy is it to type each of these alternatives.

* How error-prone are they.

* How esthetically clean are they.

**Please don't reply to me.** Send your reply to
long-opt...@gnu.ai.mit.edu.

Note that there is no conflict, strictly speaking, between the use of
`--' as a prefix for long options and use of `--' by itself as the
"end of options" marker. For example:

ls --format=long --directory -- --directory

is unambiguous: it makes a listing of the attributes of the directory
named `--directory'.

By the way, in evaluating the usefulness of long options, people
should keep in mind that they can be abbreviated:

ls --fo=l --d -- --directory

In the GNU system we will eventually have facilities for completion of
option names.