Python Optparse list

Question

I'm using the python optparse module in my program, and I'm having trouble finding an easy way to parse an option that contains a list of values.

For example:

--groups one,two,three.  

I'd like to be able to access these values in a list format as options.groups[]. Is there an optparse option to convert comma separated values into a list? Or do I have to do this manually?

Answer 1

S.Lott's answer has already been accepted, but here's a code sample for the archives:

def foo_callback(option, opt, value, parser):   setattr(parser.values, option.dest, value.split(','))  parser = OptionParser() parser.add_option('-f', '--foo',                   type='string',                   action='callback',                   callback=foo_callback) 

Answer 2

Look at option callbacks. Your callback function can parse the value into a list using a basic optarg.split(',')