# GNU Conventions ## Argument Syntax GNU recommends **hyphen-separated** names for long options: ```text --byte-offset (not --byteOffset or --byte_offset) ``` From the [GNU C Library manual](https://www.gnu.org/software/libc/manual/html_node/Argument-Syntax.html): > Long options consist of `--` followed by a name made of alphanumeric characters and dashes. Option names are typically one to three words long, with hyphens to separate words. Users can abbreviate the option names as long as the abbreviations are unique.