title: Single dash for argparse long options
body: <p>Is it possible to make it so that <code>--longoption</code> is represented as <code>-longoption</code> using argparse?</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://docs.python.org/dev/library/argparse.html#prefix-chars" rel="noreferrer"><code>argparse.prefix_chars</code></a> doesn't work, as it is assumed that the prefix char would be repeated for a long option.</p>
  
  <p>I'm thinking perhaps there is a way to turn off short options and allow long options to use a single dash instead of a double dash. Something like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
  parser.turn_off_short_opts()
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Can this be done? If not, what can I use to accomplish this?</p>