argparse optional subparser (for --version)

Question

I have the following code (using Python 2.7):

# shared command line options, like --version or --verbose
parser_shared = argparse.ArgumentParser(add_help=Fal         


        

Answer 1

This seems to implement the basic idea of an optional subparser. We parse the standard arguments that apply to all subcommands. Then, if anything is left, we invoke the parser on the rest. The primary arguments are a parent of the subcommand so the -h appears correctly. I plan to enter an interactive prompt if no subcommands are present.

import argparse

p1 = argparse.ArgumentParser( add_help = False )    
p1.add_argument( ‘–flag1′ )

p2 = argparse.ArgumentParser( parents = [ p1 ] )
s = p2.add_subparsers()
p = s.add_parser( ‘group’ )
p.set_defaults( group=True )

( init_ns, remaining ) = p1.parse_known_args( )

if remaining:
    p2.parse_args( args = remaining, namespace=init_ns )
else:
    print( ‘Enter interactive loop’ )

print( init_ns )