mikecharles · December 1, 2022 08:50 · Feb 8, 2016 · Feb 8, 2016 · Feb 8, 2016 · Feb 8, 2016
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 Validates a `--dates` argument in Python with the following possible formats:
 
-  - MMDD (eg. 0515)
-  - MMDD-MMDD (eg. 0115-0315)
+  - YYYYMMDD (eg. 20120515)
+  - YYYYMMDD-YYYYMMDD (eg. 20140115-20140315)
   - yesterday
   - today
 
@@ -35,8 +35,8 @@ def parse_args(argv):
     # Add arguments
     group.add_argument(
         '-d', '--dates', dest='dates',
-        help='month and day of the valid date(s) to create stats for (MMDD or '
-             'MMDD-MMDD)',
+        help='month and day of the valid date(s) to create stats for (YYYYMMDD or '
+             'YYYYMMDD-YYYYMMDD)',
         metavar='<DATE(S)>', required=True, type=date_arg)
     # If no options are set, print help and exit, otherwise parse args
     if len(argv) <= 1:

diff --git a/validate_date_arg.py b/validate_date_arg.py
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ def date_arg(value):
     Function will ensure that the --dates argument matches a given regex.
     Possible values of the date are:
 
-    - MMDD (eg. 0515)
-    - MMDD-MMDD (eg. 0115-0315)
+    - YYYYMMDD (eg. 20120515)
+    - YYYYMMDD-YYYYMMDD (eg. 20140115-20140315)
     - yesterday
     - today
 
@@ -27,12 +27,12 @@ def date_arg(value):
     regex
     """
     # Regex check
-    if not re.match('^(\d{4}|\d{4}-\d{4}|yesterday|today)$', value):
+    if not re.match('^(\d{8}|\d{8}-\d{8}|yesterday|today)$', value):
         raise argparse.ArgumentTypeError("must be in the form MMDD, "
                                          "MMDD-MMDD, yesterday, "
                                          "or today".format(value))
     # Make sure end date is >= start date
-    if re.match("\d{4}-\d{4}", value):
+    if re.match("\d{8}-\d{8}", value):
         start, end = value.split('-')
         if not end >= start:
             raise argparse.ArgumentTypeError("The start date is less than the "

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -38,4 +38,16 @@ def parse_args(argv):
         help='month and day of the valid date(s) to create stats for (MMDD or '
              'MMDD-MMDD)',
         metavar='<DATE(S)>', required=True, type=date_arg)
+    # If no options are set, print help and exit, otherwise parse args
+    if len(argv) <= 1:
+        parser.print_help()
+        sys.exit()
+    else:
+        args = parser.parse_args(argv)
+    # If the help option was set, print help and exit
+    if hasattr(args, 'help'):
+        parser.print_help()
+        sys.exit()
+
+    return args
 ```
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -7,7 +7,35 @@ Validates a `--dates` argument in Python with the following possible formats:
 
 To use this function, reference it in the `argparse` setup:
 
-    group.add_argument('-d', '--dates', dest='dates',
-      help='month and day of the valid date(s) to create stats for (MMDD or '
-      'MMDD-MMDD)',
-      metavar='<DATE(S)>', required=True, type=date_arg)
+```python
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Function to parse command-line arguments
+#
+def parse_args(argv):
+    """
+    Parse the command line args
+
+    Note that the argv argument will be parsed instead of sys.argv because
+    the test suite will need to execute the main() function, and will
+    therefore need to pass the given arguments to that function, as opposed
+    to the main() function getting them from sys.argv.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+
+    - argv - *list of strings* - argument list containing the elements from
+    sys.argv, except the first element (sys.argv[0]) which is the script name
+    """
+    # Create an ArgumentParser object
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(add_help=False, usage='%(prog)s [OPTIONS]')
+
+    # Add a required argument group
+    group = parser.add_argument_group('required arguments')
+
+    # Add arguments
+    group.add_argument(
+        '-d', '--dates', dest='dates',
+        help='month and day of the valid date(s) to create stats for (MMDD or '
+             'MMDD-MMDD)',
+        metavar='<DATE(S)>', required=True, type=date_arg)
+```
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+Validates a `--dates` argument in Python with the following possible formats:
+
+  - MMDD (eg. 0515)
+  - MMDD-MMDD (eg. 0115-0315)
+  - yesterday
+  - today
+
+To use this function, reference it in the `argparse` setup:
+
+    group.add_argument('-d', '--dates', dest='dates',
+      help='month and day of the valid date(s) to create stats for (MMDD or '
+      'MMDD-MMDD)',
+      metavar='<DATE(S)>', required=True, type=date_arg)
diff --git a/validate_date_arg.py b/validate_date_arg.py
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+def date_arg(value):
+    """
+    Validate the --dates argument
+
+    Function will ensure that the --dates argument matches a given regex.
+    Possible values of the date are:
+
+    - MMDD (eg. 0515)
+    - MMDD-MMDD (eg. 0115-0315)
+    - yesterday
+    - today
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+
+    - value - *string* - automatically passed by the ArgumentParser object
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+
+    Returns the value back to the ArgumentParser object
+
+    Exceptions
+    ----------
+
+    - argparse.ArgumentTypeError - if the passed argument doesn't match the
+    regex
+    """
+    # Regex check
+    if not re.match('^(\d{4}|\d{4}-\d{4}|yesterday|today)$', value):
+        raise argparse.ArgumentTypeError("must be in the form MMDD, "
+                                         "MMDD-MMDD, yesterday, "
+                                         "or today".format(value))
+    # Make sure end date is >= start date
+    if re.match("\d{4}-\d{4}", value):
+        start, end = value.split('-')
+        if not end >= start:
+            raise argparse.ArgumentTypeError("The start date is less than the "
+                                             "end date")
+    return value
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