python optparse, how to include additional info in usage output?

Posted by CarpeNoctem on Stack Overflow See other posts from Stack Overflow or by CarpeNoctem
Published on 2009-12-07T01:48:08Z Indexed on 2010/05/13 20:54 UTC
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Using python's optparse module I would like to add extra example lines below the regular usage output. My current help_print() output looks like this:

usage: check_dell.py [options]

options:
-h, --help     show this help message and exit
-s, --storage  checks virtual and physical disks
-c, --chassis  checks specified chassis components

I would like it to include usage examples for the less *nix literate users at my work. Something like this:

usage: check_dell.py [options]

options:
-h, --help     show this help message and exit
-s, --storage  checks virtual and physical disks
-c, --chassis  checks specified chassis components

Examples:

check_dell -c all
check_dell -c fans memory voltage
check_dell -s

How would I accomplish this? What optparse options allow for such? Current code:

import optparse

def main():
    parser = optparse.OptionParser()
    parser.add_option('-s', '--storage', action='store_true', default=False, help='checks virtual and physical disks')
    parser.add_option('-c', '--chassis', action='store_true', default=False, help='checks specified chassis components')

(opts, args) = parser.parse_args()

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