Command line interface tools are the new web framework. In addition to the
Python standard library's getopt, optparse and argparse there is a bewildering
array of packages available on the Python Packaging Index. Packages like Click,
Cliff, Docopt, Invoke all provide different mechanics for creating command line
applications. When all you want to do is expose a command line and get back to
creating functionality, it’s hard to know which alternative to reach for.

This presentation will have two parts, the first half will be a brief survey
of popular modules. Strengths, weaknesses and design philosophies will be
compared by creating command line processing for the same example program.

The second half will go into more depth on a specific package, Begins. This
package was authored by the presenter to minimise the disruption developers
experience when breaking flow to implement command line processing. The
audience will be shown how a single line of code can create a complex command
line interface. It will also be shown how a handful of decorators from the
Begins API can eliminate boilerplate code and create powerful, complex
applications.