[Xvid-devel] Full review of the help message

Elio Blanca eblanca76 at users.sourceforge.net
Mon Feb 10 03:42:04 CET 2014


This patch includes a full review of the usage text, which now prints the actual value for any 
option, with some trick.
For example, you say you want to compress your videos using always a max keyframe interval of 150 
instead of 300. Well, you can change the default value, type `make' and xvid_encraw will always use 
150 as max keyframe interval from now on (you don't need to type it every time), and it DOES print 
this value in the help message! So you know which value you are using, even if you don't ever type 
it on the command line.
The further trick is tied to on/off options.
You say you always want to use the `packed bitstream' option but typing the option is boring. So, 
again, you can change the default value (set it to 1) and run `make' and the shiny new xvid_encraw 
will always enable the packed_bitstream feature by default. At that point, the help message won't 
ever print the option needed for ACTIVATING that feature, because it is always enabled; instead, it 
will say you how to DISABLE it. Try disabling the same feature (set the value to 0), run make, and 
then the help message will say you how to ENABLE it.
I think this may help keeping the usage message short yet useful.

There's a new issue I will investigate next time.
I see the code is able to parse a `-zones' option structured  as 
framenumber,type,weight,options/framenumber,type,weight,options/...
but - well - I didn't see the whole stuff deep enough.
The actual help message doesn't tell anything about this, why?
Is this feature about to be removed?
Isn't it fully tested?



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