getopt

getopt ('switches'[, \%opts])

switches is a string of the command-line options that take arguments. For each option, getopt sets $opt_x (where x is the switch) to the value entered as an argument. If \%opts is specified, it is a reference to a hash in which getopt sets the key to the name of the switch and the value to the argument (and the $opt_ variables are not set).