What is the meaning of --filename=composer?

[bendqh1]

Please consider the command:

php composer-setup.php --filename=composer --install-dir=/usr/local/bin

What is the purpose of the --filename=composer flag?

I didn’t find an explanation in man php. In the php manual only this appears:

–file file
-f file Parse and execute file

It doesn’t help me understand what is that --filename=composer .

Thank you !

[rpkamp]

It tells the composer installer to install compose with filename composer in the directory /usr/local/bin

So they are not arguments to php, but to composer-installer.php.

[bendqh1]

That’s the first time I come across this concept of arguments for a file extension (?).

ls -la /usr/local/bin

composer

ll /usr/local/bin

composer*

The asterisk probably means it is executable.

[Gandalf]

@bendqh1

That’s the first time I come across this concept of arguments for a file extension (?).

It’s an executable file.

Edited: After all php has an extension; it is really php.exe

[rpkamp]

It’s one of these things where it’s not immediately clear which part of the command is listening to which argument. There are also very longwinded docker commands that almost need a manual to explain which argument is doing what and why.

And indeed the asterisk means it’s executable.