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| 1 | +# Glossary |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +```{currentmodule} click |
| 4 | +``` |
| 5 | + |
| 6 | +This glossary defines key terms as they are used throughout the Click |
| 7 | +documentation. Having a shared vocabulary helps keep the docs internally |
| 8 | +consistent and reduces ambiguity for new users. |
| 9 | + |
| 10 | +## Terms |
| 11 | + |
| 12 | +**Application** |
| 13 | +: A complete command line program built with Click. May consist of a |
| 14 | + single command or a tree of commands and groups. Used interchangeably |
| 15 | + with "command line application" in this documentation. |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | +**Argument** |
| 18 | +: A positional parameter passed to a command. Arguments are |
| 19 | + required by default and are identified by their position on the |
| 20 | + command line, not by name. See {doc}`arguments`. |
| 21 | + |
| 22 | +**Command** |
| 23 | +: A single callable unit in a Click application. Created with |
| 24 | + {func}`~click.command`. A command can accept |
| 25 | + {class}`~click.Option` and {class}`~click.Argument` parameters. |
| 26 | + See {doc}`commands`. |
| 27 | + |
| 28 | +**Command line application** |
| 29 | +: A program that is operated by typing text commands into a terminal. |
| 30 | + In Click, this is any program built using the Click framework. |
| 31 | + Used interchangeably with "application". |
| 32 | + |
| 33 | +**Command line utility** |
| 34 | +: A command line application designed for a specific task, often |
| 35 | + without a persistent interactive session. Examples include ``ls``, |
| 36 | + ``grep``, and ``curl``. In Click documentation, "application" is |
| 37 | + preferred for clarity. |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | +**Flag** |
| 40 | +: An option that takes no value, acting as a boolean switch. Created |
| 41 | + by passing `is_flag=True` to {func}`~click.option`. Example: |
| 42 | + ``--verbose``. See {ref}`is-flag`. |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +**Group** |
| 45 | +: A command that contains subcommands. Created with |
| 46 | + {func}`~click.group`. Groups enable nested CLI structures where |
| 47 | + the first argument selects a subcommand. See {doc}`commands-and-groups`. |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +**Option** |
| 50 | +: A named parameter passed to a command using ``--name value`` or |
| 51 | + ``--name=value`` syntax. Options are optional by default. See |
| 52 | + {doc}`options`. |
| 53 | + |
| 54 | +**Parameter** |
| 55 | +: A generic term covering both {term}`options <Option>` and |
| 56 | + {term}`arguments <Argument>`. See {doc}`parameters`. |
| 57 | + |
| 58 | +**Terminal** |
| 59 | +: The text-based interface where a command line application is |
| 60 | + executed. Also called a "console", "shell", or "command prompt". |
| 61 | + Click uses "terminal" throughout its documentation. |
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