| Subject: | unknown options ignored |
| Date: | Mon, 17 Jul 2017 20:46:14 +0100 |
| To: | bug-CPAN [...] rt.cpan.org |
| From: | Zefram <zefram [...] fysh.org> |
If cpan(1) is given a command-line option that it doesn't support,
it sends an error message to stderr, but then carries on, ignoring the
option. This is bad behaviour: an unknown option means that the program
doesn't know what the user was attempting to do, and what it thinks was
requested from the remaining options and arguments may be entirely the
wrong thing. For example, cpan(1) documents a -n option for dry-run mode,
noting that it is unimplemented. If someone actually tries the option,
perhaps in the hope that it has by now been implemented, the option is
ignored and a regular wet install ensues.
Given any unknown or unsupported option, cpan(1) should abort.
-zefram