Using the Command Line Interface › Introduction › Command Line Options and Arguments

Command Line Options and Arguments

A command line uses options and arguments to provide specific instructions to tell a computer to do something, such as execute (or run) a program.

• An argument, also called a command line argument, is a file name or other data that is provided to a command in order for the command to use it as an input. Arguments are pieces of information that tell a command what to do and where to send the results.
• An option is a type of argument that modifies the behavior of the command. An option, also referred to as a flag or a switch, is a single-letter or full word that modifies the way a command behaves in some predetermined way. An option is preceded by a hyphen or minus sign ( - ).

You can combine several command line options into a file called an argument file.