python getopt

import getopt, sys 

def main(): 
  try: 
    opts, args = getopt.getopt(sys.argv[1:], "ho:v", ["help", "output="]) 
  except getopt.GetoptError as err: 
# print help information and exit:    
    print(err) 
# will print something like "option -a not recognized" 
    usage() 
    sys.exit(2) 

  output = None 
  verbose = False 
  for o, a in opts: 
    if o == "-v": 
      verbose = True 
    elif o in ("-h", "--help"): 
      usage() 
      sys.exit()
   elif o in ("-o", "--output"): 
      output = a 
   else: 
      assert False, "unhandled option" 
# ... 
if __name__ == "__main__":
  main()