argc

argc - print the number of arguments passed. That's it. Seriously, why doesn't this already exist?

Synopsis

argc ARGUMENT...

Description

Prints the number of command-line arguments passed to the program in base 10, followed by a newline.

The traditional --help and --version arguments aren't supported, in order to ensure seamless argument counting.

To ignore the program name

By definition, argc includes the program name as the first argument (argv[0]).

If you prefer to count only the user-supplied arguments (excluding the program itself), you can easily adjust:

Using Bash arithmetic:

echo $(($(argc "$@") - 1))

Or with bc:

bc <<< "$(argc "$@")-1"

Installation

To build and install argc manually:

Prerequisites

You'll need:

• A C compiler (e.g. gcc, clang)
• make
• Basic POSIX tools (install, rm, etc.)

Build and install

Clone the repository, then run:

make
sudo make install

This will:

• Compile the argc binary with optimization flags
• Install it to /usr/local/bin/argc
• Install the manpage to /usr/local/share/man/man1/argc.1

To remove it later:

sudo make uninstall

To clean up build artifacts:

make clean

Running Tests

Before running the tests, make sure the argc binary exists by compiling it:

make

Then, run the tests with:

prove -v t/argc.t
prove -v t/zero.t

Or run them all at once:

prove -v t/

Test scripts

t/argc.t

This is the main test suite. It checks:

• That argc is executable
• That it returns the correct number of arguments for:
  • No extra args
  • A few args
  • A lot of args (up to 100)

This test uses normal shell-style execution and reflects how argc behaves in the real world.

t/zero.t

This one’s… special.

It uses low-level syscall magic to launch argc with literally zero arguments—not even argv[0]. This is only possible by bypassing the shell and calling the execve() system call directly.

It's separated from the main suite because:

• It’s a rare, weird edge case
• Behavior is not guaranteed or portable
• It tells us something about how argc (and your OS) handles broken expectations

Cleaning Up

After running tests, you can clean up the compiled binary like so:

make clean

These tests aren’t here because they’re strictly necessary.
They’re here because you deserve to know your 3-line program works with 100 arguments and 0 expectations.

Copyright

This is free and unencumbered software released into the public domain.

Philosophy

• Even the smallest tool deserves to be well-made.
• Even the most basic function can be shared with pride.
• Even three lines of C can teach someone how real software is built.

Contributing

No need.