thodg/libgit2

diff --git a/examples/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/CMakeLists.txt
index c20a6df..596be45 100644
--- a/examples/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ ENDIF()
 FILE(GLOB SRC_EXAMPLE_APPS RELATIVE ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR} *.c)
 FOREACH(src_app ${SRC_EXAMPLE_APPS})
 	STRING(REPLACE ".c" "" app_name ${src_app})
-	ADD_EXECUTABLE(${app_name} ${src_app})
-	TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(${app_name} git2)
+	IF(NOT ${app_name} STREQUAL "common")
+		ADD_EXECUTABLE(${app_name} ${src_app} "common.c")
+		TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(${app_name} git2)
+	ENDIF()
 ENDFOREACH()
diff --git a/examples/Makefile b/examples/Makefile
index d53ed82..f4d5557 100644
--- a/examples/Makefile
+++ b/examples/Makefile
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ APPS = general showindex diff rev-list cat-file status log rev-parse init
 all: $(APPS)
 
 % : %.c
-	$(CC) -o $@ $(CFLAGS) $< $(LFLAGS)
+	$(CC) -o $@ common.c $(CFLAGS) $< $(LFLAGS)
 
 clean:
 	$(RM) $(APPS)
diff --git a/examples/README.md b/examples/README.md
index f2b6d7d..494d329 100644
--- a/examples/README.md
+++ b/examples/README.md
@@ -1,11 +1,19 @@
 libgit2 examples
 ================
 
-These examples are meant as thin, easy-to-read snippets for Docurium
-(https://github.com/github/docurium) rather than full-blown
-implementations of Git commands.  They are not vetted as carefully
-for bugs, error handling, or cross-platform compatibility as the
-rest of the code in libgit2, so copy with some caution.
+These examples are a mixture of basic emulation of core Git command line
+functions and simple snippets demonstrating libgit2 API usage (for use
+with Docurium).  As a whole, they are not vetted carefully for bugs, error
+handling, and cross-platform compatibility in the same manner as the rest
+of the code in libgit2, so copy with caution.
 
-For HTML versions, check "Examples" at http://libgit2.github.com/libgit2
+That being said, you are welcome to copy code from these examples as
+desired when using libgit2.
 
+For annotated HTML versions, see the "Examples" section of:
+
+    http://libgit2.github.com/libgit2
+
+such as:
+
+    http://libgit2.github.com/libgit2/ex/HEAD/general.html
diff --git a/examples/add.c b/examples/add.c
index a0edf43..999a41e 100644
--- a/examples/add.c
+++ b/examples/add.c
@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
-#include <git2.h>
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <string.h>
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) the libgit2 contributors. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This file is part of libgit2, distributed under the GNU GPL v2 with
+ * a Linking Exception. For full terms see the included COPYING file.
+ */
+
+#include "common.h"
 #include <assert.h>
 
 enum print_options {
@@ -14,19 +19,49 @@ struct print_payload {
 	git_repository *repo;
 };
 
-void init_array(git_strarray *array, int argc, char **argv)
+/* Forward declarations for helpers */
+static void parse_opts(int *options, int *count, int argc, char *argv[]);
+void init_array(git_strarray *array, int argc, char **argv);
+int print_matched_cb(const char *path, const char *matched_pathspec, void *payload);
+
+int main (int argc, char** argv)
 {
-	unsigned int i;
+	git_index_matched_path_cb matched_cb = NULL;
+	git_repository *repo = NULL;
+	git_index *index;
+	git_strarray array = {0};
+	int options = 0, count = 0;
+	struct print_payload payload = {0};
 
-	array->count = argc;
-	array->strings = malloc(sizeof(char*) * array->count);
-	assert(array->strings!=NULL);
+	git_threads_init();
 
-	for(i=0; i<array->count; i++) {
-		array->strings[i]=argv[i];
+	parse_opts(&options, &count, argc, argv);
+
+	init_array(&array, argc-count, argv+count);
+
+	check_lg2(git_repository_open(&repo, "."), "No git repository", NULL);
+	check_lg2(git_repository_index(&index, repo), "Could not open repository index", NULL);
+
+	if (options&VERBOSE || options&SKIP) {
+		matched_cb = &print_matched_cb;
 	}
 
-	return;
+	payload.options = options;
+	payload.repo = repo;
+
+	if (options&UPDATE) {
+		git_index_update_all(index, &array, matched_cb, &payload);
+	} else {
+		git_index_add_all(index, &array, 0, matched_cb, &payload);
+	}
+
+	git_index_write(index);
+	git_index_free(index);
+	git_repository_free(repo);
+
+	git_threads_shutdown();
+
+	return 0;
 }
 
 int print_matched_cb(const char *path, const char *matched_pathspec, void *payload)
@@ -55,36 +90,46 @@ int print_matched_cb(const char *path, const char *matched_pathspec, void *paylo
 	return ret;
 }
 
+void init_array(git_strarray *array, int argc, char **argv)
+{
+	unsigned int i;
+
+	array->count = argc;
+	array->strings = malloc(sizeof(char*) * array->count);
+	assert(array->strings!=NULL);
+
+	for(i=0; i<array->count; i++) {
+		array->strings[i]=argv[i];
+	}
+
+	return;
+}
+
 void print_usage(void)
 {
 	fprintf(stderr, "usage: add [options] [--] file-spec [file-spec] [...]\n\n");
 	fprintf(stderr, "\t-n, --dry-run    dry run\n");
 	fprintf(stderr, "\t-v, --verbose    be verbose\n");
 	fprintf(stderr, "\t-u, --update     update tracked files\n");
+	exit(1);
 }
 
-
-int main (int argc, char** argv)
+static void parse_opts(int *options, int *count, int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	git_index_matched_path_cb matched_cb = NULL;
-	git_repository *repo = NULL;
-	git_index *index;
-	git_strarray array = {0};
-	int i, options = 0;
-	struct print_payload payload = {0};
+	int i;
 
 	for (i = 1; i < argc; ++i) {
 		if (argv[i][0] != '-') {
 			break;
 		}
 		else if(!strcmp(argv[i], "--verbose") || !strcmp(argv[i], "-v")) {
-			options |= VERBOSE;
+			*options |= VERBOSE;
 		}
 		else if(!strcmp(argv[i], "--dry-run") || !strcmp(argv[i], "-n")) {
-			options |= SKIP;
+			*options |= SKIP;
 		}
 		else if(!strcmp(argv[i], "--update") || !strcmp(argv[i], "-u")) {
-			options |= UPDATE;
+			*options |= UPDATE;
 		}
 		else if(!strcmp(argv[i], "-h")) {
 			print_usage();
@@ -97,47 +142,11 @@ int main (int argc, char** argv)
 		else {
 			fprintf(stderr, "Unsupported option %s.\n", argv[i]);
 			print_usage();
-			return 1;
 		}
 	}
 
-	if (argc<=i) {
+	if (argc<=i)
 		print_usage();
-		return 1;
-	}
 
-	git_threads_init();
-
-	init_array(&array, argc-i, argv+i);
-
-	if (git_repository_open(&repo, ".") < 0) {
-		fprintf(stderr, "No git repository\n");
-		return 1;
-	}
-
-	if (git_repository_index(&index, repo) < 0) {
-		fprintf(stderr, "Could not open repository index\n");
-		return 1;
-	}
-
-	if (options&VERBOSE || options&SKIP) {
-		matched_cb = &print_matched_cb;
-	}
-
-	payload.options = options;
-	payload.repo = repo;
-
-	if (options&UPDATE) {
-		git_index_update_all(index, &array, matched_cb, &payload);
-	} else {
-		git_index_add_all(index, &array, 0, matched_cb, &payload);
-	}
-
-	git_index_write(index);
-	git_index_free(index);
-	git_repository_free(repo);
-
-	git_threads_shutdown();
-
-	return 0;
+	*count = i;
 }
diff --git a/examples/cat-file.c b/examples/cat-file.c
index ebb6cb0..5e54762 100644
--- a/examples/cat-file.c
+++ b/examples/cat-file.c
@@ -1,37 +1,11 @@
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <git2.h>
-#include <stdlib.h>
-#include <string.h>
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) the libgit2 contributors. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This file is part of libgit2, distributed under the GNU GPL v2 with
+ * a Linking Exception. For full terms see the included COPYING file.
+ */
 
-static git_repository *g_repo;
-
-static void check(int error, const char *message)
-{
-	if (error) {
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s (%d)\n", message, error);
-		exit(1);
-	}
-}
-
-static void usage(const char *message, const char *arg)
-{
-	if (message && arg)
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", message, arg);
-	else if (message)
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", message);
-	fprintf(stderr, "usage: cat-file (-t | -s | -e | -p) [<options>] <object>\n");
-	exit(1);
-}
-
-static int check_str_param(
-	const char *arg, const char *pattern, const char **val)
-{
-	size_t len = strlen(pattern);
-	if (strncmp(arg, pattern, len))
-		return 0;
-	*val = (const char *)(arg + len);
-	return 1;
-}
+#include "common.h"
 
 static void print_signature(const char *header, const git_signature *sig)
 {
@@ -57,12 +31,14 @@ static void print_signature(const char *header, const git_signature *sig)
 		   sign, hours, minutes);
 }
 
+/** Printing out a blob is simple, get the contents and print */
 static void show_blob(const git_blob *blob)
 {
 	/* ? Does this need crlf filtering? */
 	fwrite(git_blob_rawcontent(blob), git_blob_rawsize(blob), 1, stdout);
 }
 
+/** Show each entry with its type, id and attributes */
 static void show_tree(const git_tree *tree)
 {
 	size_t i, max_i = (int)git_tree_entrycount(tree);
@@ -81,6 +57,9 @@ static void show_tree(const git_tree *tree)
 	}
 }
 
+/**
+ * Commits and tags have a few interesting fields in their header.
+ */
 static void show_commit(const git_commit *commit)
 {
 	unsigned int i, max_i;
@@ -123,53 +102,34 @@ enum {
 	SHOW_PRETTY = 4
 };
 
+/* Forward declarations for option-parsing helper */
+struct opts {
+	const char *dir;
+	const char *rev;
+	int action;
+	int verbose;
+};
+static void parse_opts(struct opts *o, int argc, char *argv[]);
+
+
+/** Entry point for this command */
 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	const char *dir = ".", *rev = NULL;
-	int i, action = 0, verbose = 0;
+	git_repository *repo;
+	struct opts o = { ".", NULL, 0, 0 };
 	git_object *obj = NULL;
 	char oidstr[GIT_OID_HEXSZ + 1];
 
 	git_threads_init();
 
-	for (i = 1; i < argc; ++i) {
-		char *a = argv[i];
-
-		if (a[0] != '-') {
-			if (rev != NULL)
-				usage("Only one rev should be provided", NULL);
-			else
-				rev = a;
-		}
-		else if (!strcmp(a, "-t"))
-			action = SHOW_TYPE;
-		else if (!strcmp(a, "-s"))
-			action = SHOW_SIZE;
-		else if (!strcmp(a, "-e"))
-			action = SHOW_NONE;
-		else if (!strcmp(a, "-p"))
-			action = SHOW_PRETTY;
-		else if (!strcmp(a, "-q"))
-			verbose = 0;
-		else if (!strcmp(a, "-v"))
-			verbose = 1;
-		else if (!strcmp(a, "--help") || !strcmp(a, "-h"))
-			usage(NULL, NULL);
-		else if (!check_str_param(a, "--git-dir=", &dir))
-			usage("Unknown option", a);
-	}
-
-	if (!action || !rev)
-		usage(NULL, NULL);
+	parse_opts(&o, argc, argv);
 
-	check(git_repository_open_ext(&g_repo, dir, 0, NULL),
-		"Could not open repository");
+	check_lg2(git_repository_open_ext(&repo, o.dir, 0, NULL),
+			"Could not open repository", NULL);
+	check_lg2(git_revparse_single(&obj, repo, o.rev),
+			"Could not resolve", o.rev);
 
-	if (git_revparse_single(&obj, g_repo, rev) < 0) {
-		fprintf(stderr, "Could not resolve '%s'\n", rev);
-		exit(1);
-	}
-	if (verbose) {
+	if (o.verbose) {
 		char oidstr[GIT_OID_HEXSZ + 1];
 		git_oid_tostr(oidstr, sizeof(oidstr), git_object_id(obj));
 
@@ -177,7 +137,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			git_object_type2string(git_object_type(obj)), oidstr);
 	}
 
-	switch (action) {
+	switch (o.action) {
 	case SHOW_TYPE:
 		printf("%s\n", git_object_type2string(git_object_type(obj)));
 		break;
@@ -185,9 +145,9 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		git_odb *odb;
 		git_odb_object *odbobj;
 
-		check(git_repository_odb(&odb, g_repo), "Could not open ODB");
-		check(git_odb_read(&odbobj, odb, git_object_id(obj)),
-			"Could not find obj");
+		check_lg2(git_repository_odb(&odb, repo), "Could not open ODB", NULL);
+		check_lg2(git_odb_read(&odbobj, odb, git_object_id(obj)),
+			"Could not find obj", NULL);
 
 		printf("%ld\n", (long)git_odb_object_size(odbobj));
 
@@ -221,9 +181,59 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	}
 
 	git_object_free(obj);
-	git_repository_free(g_repo);
+	git_repository_free(repo);
 
 	git_threads_shutdown();
 
 	return 0;
 }
+
+/** Print out usage information */
+static void usage(const char *message, const char *arg)
+{
+	if (message && arg)
+		fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", message, arg);
+	else if (message)
+		fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", message);
+	fprintf(stderr,
+			"usage: cat-file (-t | -s | -e | -p) [-v] [-q] "
+			"[-h|--help] [--git-dir=<dir>] <object>\n");
+	exit(1);
+}
+
+/** Parse the command-line options taken from git */
+static void parse_opts(struct opts *o, int argc, char *argv[])
+{
+	struct args_info args = ARGS_INFO_INIT;
+
+	for (args.pos = 1; args.pos < argc; ++args.pos) {
+		char *a = argv[args.pos];
+
+		if (a[0] != '-') {
+			if (o->rev != NULL)
+				usage("Only one rev should be provided", NULL);
+			else
+				o->rev = a;
+		}
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "-t"))
+			o->action = SHOW_TYPE;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "-s"))
+			o->action = SHOW_SIZE;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "-e"))
+			o->action = SHOW_NONE;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "-p"))
+			o->action = SHOW_PRETTY;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "-q"))
+			o->verbose = 0;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "-v"))
+			o->verbose = 1;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "--help") || !strcmp(a, "-h"))
+			usage(NULL, NULL);
+		else if (!match_str_arg(&o->dir, &args, "--git-dir"))
+			usage("Unknown option", a);
+	}
+
+	if (!o->action || !o->rev)
+		usage(NULL, NULL);
+
+}
diff --git a/examples/common.c b/examples/common.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5972bc5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/common.c
@@ -0,0 +1,184 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) the libgit2 contributors. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This file is part of libgit2, distributed under the GNU GPL v2 with
+ * a Linking Exception. For full terms see the included COPYING file.
+ */
+
+#include "common.h"
+
+void check_lg2(int error, const char *message, const char *extra)
+{
+	const git_error *lg2err;
+	const char *lg2msg = "", *lg2spacer = "";
+
+	if (!error)
+		return;
+
+	if ((lg2err = giterr_last()) != NULL && lg2err->message != NULL) {
+		lg2msg = lg2err->message;
+		lg2spacer = " - ";
+	}
+
+	if (extra)
+		fprintf(stderr, "%s '%s' [%d]%s%s\n",
+			message, extra, error, lg2spacer, lg2msg);
+	else
+		fprintf(stderr, "%s [%d]%s%s\n",
+			message, error, lg2spacer, lg2msg);
+
+	exit(1);
+}
+
+void fatal(const char *message, const char *extra)
+{
+	if (extra)
+		fprintf(stderr, "%s %s\n", message, extra);
+	else
+		fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", message);
+
+	exit(1);
+}
+
+size_t is_prefixed(const char *str, const char *pfx)
+{
+	size_t len = strlen(pfx);
+	return strncmp(str, pfx, len) ? 0 : len;
+}
+
+int match_str_arg(
+	const char **out, struct args_info *args, const char *opt)
+{
+	const char *found = args->argv[args->pos];
+	size_t len = is_prefixed(found, opt);
+
+	if (!len)
+		return 0;
+
+	if (!found[len]) {
+		if (args->pos + 1 == args->argc)
+			fatal("expected value following argument", opt);
+		args->pos += 1;
+		*out = args->argv[args->pos];
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	if (found[len] == '=') {
+		*out = found + len + 1;
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static const char *match_numeric_arg(struct args_info *args, const char *opt)
+{
+	const char *found = args->argv[args->pos];
+	size_t len = is_prefixed(found, opt);
+
+	if (!len)
+		return NULL;
+
+	if (!found[len]) {
+		if (args->pos + 1 == args->argc)
+			fatal("expected numeric value following argument", opt);
+		args->pos += 1;
+		found = args->argv[args->pos];
+	} else {
+		found = found + len;
+		if (*found == '=')
+			found++;
+	}
+
+	return found;
+}
+
+int match_uint16_arg(
+	uint16_t *out, struct args_info *args, const char *opt)
+{
+	const char *found = match_numeric_arg(args, opt);
+	uint16_t val;
+	char *endptr = NULL;
+
+	if (!found)
+		return 0;
+
+	val = (uint16_t)strtoul(found, &endptr, 0);
+	if (!endptr || *endptr != '\0')
+		fatal("expected number after argument", opt);
+
+	if (out)
+		*out = val;
+	return 1;
+}
+
+static int match_int_internal(
+	int *out, const char *str, int allow_negative, const char *opt)
+{
+	char *endptr = NULL;
+	int	  val = (int)strtol(str, &endptr, 10);
+
+	if (!endptr || *endptr != '\0')
+		fatal("expected number", opt);
+	else if (val < 0 && !allow_negative)
+		fatal("negative values are not allowed", opt);
+
+	if (out)
+		*out = val;
+
+	return 1;
+}
+
+int is_integer(int *out, const char *str, int allow_negative)
+{
+	return match_int_internal(out, str, allow_negative, NULL);
+}
+
+int match_int_arg(
+	int *out, struct args_info *args, const char *opt, int allow_negative)
+{
+	const char *found = match_numeric_arg(args, opt);
+	if (!found)
+		return 0;
+	return match_int_internal(out, found, allow_negative, opt);
+}
+
+int diff_output(
+	const git_diff_delta *d,
+	const git_diff_hunk *h,
+	const git_diff_line *l,
+	void *p)
+{
+	FILE *fp = p;
+
+	(void)d; (void)h;
+
+	if (!fp)
+		fp = stdout;
+
+	if (l->origin == GIT_DIFF_LINE_CONTEXT ||
+		l->origin == GIT_DIFF_LINE_ADDITION ||
+		l->origin == GIT_DIFF_LINE_DELETION)
+		fputc(l->origin, fp);
+
+	fwrite(l->content, 1, l->content_len, fp);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+void treeish_to_tree(
+	git_tree **out, git_repository *repo, const char *treeish)
+{
+	git_object *obj = NULL;
+
+	check_lg2(
+		git_revparse_single(&obj, repo, treeish),
+		"looking up object", treeish);
+
+	check_lg2(
+		git_object_peel((git_object **)out, obj, GIT_OBJ_TREE),
+		"resolving object to tree", treeish);
+
+	git_object_free(obj);
+}
+
diff --git a/examples/common.h b/examples/common.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ffc9c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/common.h
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) the libgit2 contributors. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This file is part of libgit2, distributed under the GNU GPL v2 with
+ * a Linking Exception. For full terms see the included COPYING file.
+ */
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <git2.h>
+
+/**
+ * Check libgit2 error code, printing error to stderr on failure and
+ * exiting the program.
+ */
+extern void check_lg2(int error, const char *message, const char *extra);
+
+/**
+ * Exit the program, printing error to stderr
+ */
+extern void fatal(const char *message, const char *extra);
+
+/**
+ * Check if a string has the given prefix.  Returns 0 if not prefixed
+ * or the length of the prefix if it is.
+ */
+extern size_t is_prefixed(const char *str, const char *pfx);
+
+/**
+ * Match an integer string, returning 1 if matched, 0 if not.
+ */
+extern int is_integer(int *out, const char *str, int allow_negative);
+
+struct args_info {
+	int    argc;
+	char **argv;
+	int    pos;
+};
+#define ARGS_INFO_INIT { argc, argv, 0 }
+
+/**
+ * Check current `args` entry against `opt` string.  If it matches
+ * exactly, take the next arg as a string; if it matches as a prefix with
+ * an equal sign, take the remainder as a string; otherwise return 0.
+ */
+extern int match_str_arg(
+	const char **out, struct args_info *args, const char *opt);
+
+/**
+ * Check current `args` entry against `opt` string parsing as uint16.  If
+ * `opt` matches exactly, take the next arg as a uint16_t value; if `opt`
+ * is a prefix (equal sign optional), take the remainder of the arg as a
+ * uint16_t value; otherwise return 0.
+ */
+extern int match_uint16_arg(
+	uint16_t *out, struct args_info *args, const char *opt);
+
+/**
+ * Check current `args` entry against `opt` string parsing as int.  If
+ * `opt` matches exactly, take the next arg as an int value; if it matches
+ * as a prefix (equal sign optional), take the remainder of the arg as a
+ * int value; otherwise return 0.
+ */
+extern int match_int_arg(
+	int *out, struct args_info *args, const char *opt, int allow_negative);
+
+/**
+ * Basic output function for plain text diff output
+ * Pass `FILE*` such as `stdout` or `stderr` as payload (or NULL == `stdout`)
+ */
+extern int diff_output(
+	const git_diff_delta*, const git_diff_hunk*, const git_diff_line*, void*);
+
+/**
+ * Convert a treeish argument to an actual tree; this will call check_lg2
+ * and exit the program if `treeish` cannot be resolved to a tree
+ */
+extern void treeish_to_tree(
+	git_tree **out, git_repository *repo, const char *treeish);
diff --git a/examples/diff.c b/examples/diff.c
index 694621f..b141564 100644
--- a/examples/diff.c
+++ b/examples/diff.c
@@ -1,49 +1,149 @@
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <git2.h>
-#include <stdlib.h>
-#include <string.h>
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) the libgit2 contributors. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This file is part of libgit2, distributed under the GNU GPL v2 with
+ * a Linking Exception. For full terms see the included COPYING file.
+ */
+
+#include "common.h"
+
+/**
+ * This example demonstrates the use of the libgit2 diff APIs to
+ * create `git_diff` objects and display them, emulating a number of
+ * core Git `diff` command line options.
+ *
+ * This covers on a portion of the core Git diff options and doesn't
+ * have particularly good error handling, but it should show most of
+ * the core libgit2 diff APIs, including various types of diffs and
+ * how to do renaming detection and patch formatting.
+ */
+
+static const char *colors[] = {
+	"\033[m", /* reset */
+	"\033[1m", /* bold */
+	"\033[31m", /* red */
+	"\033[32m", /* green */
+	"\033[36m" /* cyan */
+};
 
-static void check(int error, const char *message)
-{
-	if (error) {
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s (%d)\n", message, error);
-		exit(1);
-	}
-}
+/** The 'opts' struct captures all the various parsed command line options. */
+struct opts {
+	git_diff_options diffopts;
+	git_diff_find_options findopts;
+	int color;
+	int cached;
+	git_diff_format_t format;
+	const char *treeish1;
+	const char *treeish2;
+	const char *dir;
+};
+
+/** These functions are implemented at the end */
+static void parse_opts(struct opts *o, int argc, char *argv[]);
+static int color_printer(
+	const git_diff_delta*, const git_diff_hunk*, const git_diff_line*, void*);
 
-static int resolve_to_tree(
-	git_repository *repo, const char *identifier, git_tree **tree)
+int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	int err = 0;
-	git_object *obj = NULL;
-
-	if ((err = git_revparse_single(&obj, repo, identifier)) < 0)
-		return err;
-
-	switch (git_object_type(obj)) {
-	case GIT_OBJ_TREE:
-		*tree = (git_tree *)obj;
-		break;
-	case GIT_OBJ_COMMIT:
-		err = git_commit_tree(tree, (git_commit *)obj);
-		git_object_free(obj);
-		break;
-	default:
-		err = GIT_ENOTFOUND;
+	git_repository *repo = NULL;
+	git_tree *t1 = NULL, *t2 = NULL;
+	git_diff *diff;
+	struct opts o = {
+		GIT_DIFF_OPTIONS_INIT, GIT_DIFF_FIND_OPTIONS_INIT,
+		-1, 0, GIT_DIFF_FORMAT_PATCH, NULL, NULL, "."
+	};
+
+	git_threads_init();
+
+	parse_opts(&o, argc, argv);
+
+	check_lg2(git_repository_open_ext(&repo, o.dir, 0, NULL),
+		"Could not open repository", o.dir);
+
+	/**
+	 * Possible argument patterns:
+	 *
+	 *  * &lt;sha1&gt; &lt;sha2&gt;
+	 *  * &lt;sha1&gt; --cached
+	 *  * &lt;sha1&gt;
+	 *  * --cached
+	 *  * nothing
+	 *
+	 * Currently ranged arguments like &lt;sha1&gt;..&lt;sha2&gt; and &lt;sha1&gt;...&lt;sha2&gt;
+	 * are not supported in this example
+	 */
+
+	if (o.treeish1)
+		treeish_to_tree(&t1, repo, o.treeish1);
+	if (o.treeish2)
+		treeish_to_tree(&t2, repo, o.treeish2);
+
+	if (t1 && t2)
+		check_lg2(
+			git_diff_tree_to_tree(&diff, repo, t1, t2, &o.diffopts),
+			"diff trees", NULL);
+	else if (t1 && o.cached)
+		check_lg2(
+			git_diff_tree_to_index(&diff, repo, t1, NULL, &o.diffopts),
+			"diff tree to index", NULL);
+	else if (t1)
+		check_lg2(
+			git_diff_tree_to_workdir_with_index(&diff, repo, t1, &o.diffopts),
+			"diff tree to working directory", NULL);
+	else if (o.cached) {
+		treeish_to_tree(&t1, repo, "HEAD");
+		check_lg2(
+			git_diff_tree_to_index(&diff, repo, t1, NULL, &o.diffopts),
+			"diff tree to index", NULL);
 	}
+	else
+		check_lg2(
+			git_diff_index_to_workdir(&diff, repo, NULL, &o.diffopts),
+			"diff index to working directory", NULL);
+
+	/** Apply rename and copy detection if requested. */
+
+	if ((o.findopts.flags & GIT_DIFF_FIND_ALL) != 0)
+		check_lg2(
+			git_diff_find_similar(diff, &o.findopts),
+			"finding renames and copies", NULL);
+
+	/** Generate simple output using libgit2 display helper. */
+
+	if (o.color >= 0)
+		fputs(colors[0], stdout);
+
+	check_lg2(
+		git_diff_print(diff, o.format, color_printer, &o.color),
+		"displaying diff", NULL);
 
-	return err;
+	if (o.color >= 0)
+		fputs(colors[0], stdout);
+
+	/** Cleanup before exiting. */
+
+	git_diff_free(diff);
+	git_tree_free(t1);
+	git_tree_free(t2);
+	git_repository_free(repo);
+
+	git_threads_shutdown();
+
+	return 0;
 }
 
-char *colors[] = {
-	"\033[m", /* reset */
-	"\033[1m", /* bold */
-	"\033[31m", /* red */
-	"\033[32m", /* green */
-	"\033[36m" /* cyan */
-};
+static void usage(const char *message, const char *arg)
+{
+	if (message && arg)
+		fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", message, arg);
+	else if (message)
+		fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", message);
+	fprintf(stderr, "usage: diff [<tree-oid> [<tree-oid>]]\n");
+	exit(1);
+}
 
-static int printer(
+/** This implements very rudimentary colorized output. */
+static int color_printer(
 	const git_diff_delta *delta,
 	const git_diff_hunk *hunk,
 	const git_diff_line *line,
@@ -63,6 +163,7 @@ static int printer(
 		case GIT_DIFF_LINE_HUNK_HDR:  color = 4; break;
 		default: break;
 		}
+
 		if (color != *last_color) {
 			if (*last_color == 1 || color == 1)
 				fputs(colors[0], stdout);
@@ -71,186 +172,79 @@ static int printer(
 		}
 	}
 
-	if (line->origin == GIT_DIFF_LINE_CONTEXT ||
-		line->origin == GIT_DIFF_LINE_ADDITION ||
-		line->origin == GIT_DIFF_LINE_DELETION)
-		fputc(line->origin, stdout);
-
-	fwrite(line->content, 1, line->content_len, stdout);
-
-	return 0;
-}
-
-static int check_uint16_param(const char *arg, const char *pattern, uint16_t *val)
-{
-	size_t len = strlen(pattern);
-	uint16_t strval;
-	char *endptr = NULL;
-	if (strncmp(arg, pattern, len))
-		return 0;
-	if (arg[len] == '\0' && pattern[len - 1] != '=')
-		return 1;
-	if (arg[len] == '=')
-		len++;
-	strval = strtoul(arg + len, &endptr, 0);
-	if (endptr == arg)
-		return 0;
-	*val = strval;
-	return 1;
-}
-
-static int check_str_param(const char *arg, const char *pattern, const char **val)
-{
-	size_t len = strlen(pattern);
-	if (strncmp(arg, pattern, len))
-		return 0;
-	*val = (const char *)(arg + len);
-	return 1;
-}
-
-static void usage(const char *message, const char *arg)
-{
-	if (message && arg)
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", message, arg);
-	else if (message)
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", message);
-	fprintf(stderr, "usage: diff [<tree-oid> [<tree-oid>]]\n");
-	exit(1);
+	return diff_output(delta, hunk, line, stdout);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+/** Parse arguments as copied from git-diff. */
+static void parse_opts(struct opts *o, int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	git_repository *repo = NULL;
-	git_tree *t1 = NULL, *t2 = NULL;
-	git_diff_options opts = GIT_DIFF_OPTIONS_INIT;
-	git_diff_find_options findopts = GIT_DIFF_FIND_OPTIONS_INIT;
-	git_diff *diff;
-	int i, color = -1, cached = 0;
-	git_diff_format_t format = GIT_DIFF_FORMAT_PATCH;
-	char *a, *treeish1 = NULL, *treeish2 = NULL;
-	const char *dir = ".";
-
-	git_threads_init();
+	struct args_info args = ARGS_INFO_INIT;
 
-	/* parse arguments as copied from git-diff */
 
-	for (i = 1; i < argc; ++i) {
-		a = argv[i];
+	for (args.pos = 1; args.pos < argc; ++args.pos) {
+		const char *a = argv[args.pos];
 
 		if (a[0] != '-') {
-			if (treeish1 == NULL)
-				treeish1 = a;
-			else if (treeish2 == NULL)
-				treeish2 = a;
+			if (o->treeish1 == NULL)
+				o->treeish1 = a;
+			else if (o->treeish2 == NULL)
+				o->treeish2 = a;
 			else
 				usage("Only one or two tree identifiers can be provided", NULL);
 		}
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "-p") || !strcmp(a, "-u") ||
 			!strcmp(a, "--patch"))
-			format = GIT_DIFF_FORMAT_PATCH;
+			o->format = GIT_DIFF_FORMAT_PATCH;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--cached"))
-			cached = 1;
+			o->cached = 1;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--name-only"))
-			format = GIT_DIFF_FORMAT_NAME_ONLY;
+			o->format = GIT_DIFF_FORMAT_NAME_ONLY;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--name-status"))
-			format = GIT_DIFF_FORMAT_NAME_STATUS;
+			o->format = GIT_DIFF_FORMAT_NAME_STATUS;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--raw"))
-			format = GIT_DIFF_FORMAT_RAW;
+			o->format = GIT_DIFF_FORMAT_RAW;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--color"))
-			color = 0;
+			o->color = 0;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--no-color"))
-			color = -1;
+			o->color = -1;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "-R"))
-			opts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_REVERSE;
+			o->diffopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_REVERSE;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "-a") || !strcmp(a, "--text"))
-			opts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_FORCE_TEXT;
+			o->diffopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_FORCE_TEXT;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--ignore-space-at-eol"))
-			opts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_IGNORE_WHITESPACE_EOL;
+			o->diffopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_IGNORE_WHITESPACE_EOL;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "-b") || !strcmp(a, "--ignore-space-change"))
-			opts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_IGNORE_WHITESPACE_CHANGE;
+			o->diffopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_IGNORE_WHITESPACE_CHANGE;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "-w") || !strcmp(a, "--ignore-all-space"))
-			opts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_IGNORE_WHITESPACE;
+			o->diffopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_IGNORE_WHITESPACE;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--ignored"))
-			opts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_INCLUDE_IGNORED;
+			o->diffopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_INCLUDE_IGNORED;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--untracked"))
-			opts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_INCLUDE_UNTRACKED;
-		else if (check_uint16_param(a, "-M", &findopts.rename_threshold) ||
-				 check_uint16_param(a, "--find-renames",
-					&findopts.rename_threshold))
-			findopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_FIND_RENAMES;
-		else if (check_uint16_param(a, "-C", &findopts.copy_threshold) ||
-				 check_uint16_param(a, "--find-copies",
-					&findopts.copy_threshold))
-			findopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_FIND_COPIES;
+			o->diffopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_INCLUDE_UNTRACKED;
+		else if (match_uint16_arg(
+				&o->findopts.rename_threshold, &args, "-M") ||
+			match_uint16_arg(
+				&o->findopts.rename_threshold, &args, "--find-renames"))
+			o->findopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_FIND_RENAMES;
+		else if (match_uint16_arg(
+				&o->findopts.copy_threshold, &args, "-C") ||
+			match_uint16_arg(
+				&o->findopts.copy_threshold, &args, "--find-copies"))
+			o->findopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_FIND_COPIES;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--find-copies-harder"))
-			findopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_FIND_COPIES_FROM_UNMODIFIED;
-		else if (!strncmp(a, "-B", 2) || !strncmp(a, "--break-rewrites", 16)) {
+			o->findopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_FIND_COPIES_FROM_UNMODIFIED;
+		else if (is_prefixed(a, "-B") || is_prefixed(a, "--break-rewrites"))
 			/* TODO: parse thresholds */
-			findopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_FIND_REWRITES;
-		}
-		else if (!check_uint16_param(a, "-U", &opts.context_lines) &&
-			!check_uint16_param(a, "--unified=", &opts.context_lines) &&
-			!check_uint16_param(a, "--inter-hunk-context=",
-				&opts.interhunk_lines) &&
-			!check_str_param(a, "--src-prefix=", &opts.old_prefix) &&
-			!check_str_param(a, "--dst-prefix=", &opts.new_prefix) &&
-			!check_str_param(a, "--git-dir=", &dir))
-			usage("Unknown arg", a);
+			o->findopts.flags |= GIT_DIFF_FIND_REWRITES;
+		else if (!match_uint16_arg(
+				&o->diffopts.context_lines, &args, "-U") &&
+			!match_uint16_arg(
+				&o->diffopts.context_lines, &args, "--unified") &&
+			!match_uint16_arg(
+				&o->diffopts.interhunk_lines, &args, "--inter-hunk-context") &&
+			!match_str_arg(&o->diffopts.old_prefix, &args, "--src-prefix") &&
+			!match_str_arg(&o->diffopts.new_prefix, &args, "--dst-prefix") &&
+			!match_str_arg(&o->dir, &args, "--git-dir"))
+			usage("Unknown command line argument", a);
 	}
-
-	/* open repo */
-
-	check(git_repository_open_ext(&repo, dir, 0, NULL),
-		"Could not open repository");
-
-	if (treeish1)
-		check(resolve_to_tree(repo, treeish1, &t1), "Looking up first tree");
-	if (treeish2)
-		check(resolve_to_tree(repo, treeish2, &t2), "Looking up second tree");
-
-	/* <sha1> <sha2> */
-	/* <sha1> --cached */
-	/* <sha1> */
-	/* --cached */
-	/* nothing */
-
-	if (t1 && t2)
-		check(git_diff_tree_to_tree(&diff, repo, t1, t2, &opts), "Diff");
-	else if (t1 && cached)
-		check(git_diff_tree_to_index(&diff, repo, t1, NULL, &opts), "Diff");
-	else if (t1) {
-		git_diff *diff2;
-		check(git_diff_tree_to_index(&diff, repo, t1, NULL, &opts), "Diff");
-		check(git_diff_index_to_workdir(&diff2, repo, NULL, &opts), "Diff");
-		check(git_diff_merge(diff, diff2), "Merge diffs");
-		git_diff_free(diff2);
-	}
-	else if (cached) {
-		check(resolve_to_tree(repo, "HEAD", &t1), "looking up HEAD");
-		check(git_diff_tree_to_index(&diff, repo, t1, NULL, &opts), "Diff");
-	}
-	else
-		check(git_diff_index_to_workdir(&diff, repo, NULL, &opts), "Diff");
-
-	if ((findopts.flags & GIT_DIFF_FIND_ALL) != 0)
-		check(git_diff_find_similar(diff, &findopts),
-			"finding renames and copies ");
-
-	if (color >= 0)
-		fputs(colors[0], stdout);
-
-	check(git_diff_print(diff, format, printer, &color), "Displaying diff");
-
-	if (color >= 0)
-		fputs(colors[0], stdout);
-
-	git_diff_free(diff);
-	git_tree_free(t1);
-	git_tree_free(t2);
-	git_repository_free(repo);
-
-	git_threads_shutdown();
-
-	return 0;
 }
-
diff --git a/examples/init.c b/examples/init.c
index 4a379c6..1c37125 100644
--- a/examples/init.c
+++ b/examples/init.c
@@ -1,4 +1,13 @@
 /*
+ * Copyright (C) the libgit2 contributors. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This file is part of libgit2, distributed under the GNU GPL v2 with
+ * a Linking Exception. For full terms see the included COPYING file.
+ */
+
+#include "common.h"
+
+/**
  * This is a sample program that is similar to "git init".  See the
  * documentation for that (try "git help init") to understand what this
  * program is emulating.
@@ -8,179 +17,93 @@
  * This also contains a special additional option that regular "git init"
  * does not support which is "--initial-commit" to make a first empty commit.
  * That is demonstrated in the "create_initial_commit" helper function.
- *
- * Copyright (C) the libgit2 contributors. All rights reserved.
- *
- * This file is part of libgit2, distributed under the GNU GPL v2 with
- * a Linking Exception. For full terms see the included COPYING file.
  */
 
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <git2.h>
-#include <stdlib.h>
-#include <string.h>
-#include <time.h>
-
-/* not actually good error handling */
-static void fail(const char *msg, const char *arg)
-{
-	if (arg)
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s %s\n", msg, arg);
-	else
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", msg);
-	exit(1);
-}
-
-static void usage(const char *error, const char *arg)
-{
-	fprintf(stderr, "error: %s '%s'\n", error, arg);
-	fprintf(stderr, "usage: init [-q | --quiet] [--bare] "
-			"[--template=<dir>] [--shared[=perms]] <directory>\n");
-	exit(1);
-}
-
-/* simple string prefix test used in argument parsing */
-static size_t is_prefixed(const char *arg, const char *pfx)
-{
-	size_t len = strlen(pfx);
-	return !strncmp(arg, pfx, len) ? len : 0;
-}
-
-/* parse the tail of the --shared= argument */
-static uint32_t parse_shared(const char *shared)
-{
-	if (!strcmp(shared, "false") || !strcmp(shared, "umask"))
-		return GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_SHARED_UMASK;
-
-	else if (!strcmp(shared, "true") || !strcmp(shared, "group"))
-		return GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_SHARED_GROUP;
-
-	else if (!strcmp(shared, "all") || !strcmp(shared, "world") ||
-			 !strcmp(shared, "everybody"))
-		return GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_SHARED_ALL;
-
-	else if (shared[0] == '0') {
-		long val;
-		char *end = NULL;
-		val = strtol(shared + 1, &end, 8);
-		if (end == shared + 1 || *end != 0)
-			usage("invalid octal value for --shared", shared);
-		return (uint32_t)val;
-	}
-
-	else
-		usage("unknown value for --shared", shared);
-
-	return 0;
-}
-
-/* forward declaration of helper to make an empty parent-less commit */
+/** Forward declarations of helpers */
+struct opts {
+	int no_options;
+	int quiet;
+	int bare;
+	int initial_commit;
+	uint32_t shared;
+	const char *template;
+	const char *gitdir;
+	const char *dir;
+};
 static void create_initial_commit(git_repository *repo);
+static void parse_opts(struct opts *o, int argc, char *argv[]);
 
 
 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
 	git_repository *repo = NULL;
-	int no_options = 1, quiet = 0, bare = 0, initial_commit = 0, i;
-	uint32_t shared = GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_SHARED_UMASK;
-	const char *template = NULL, *gitdir = NULL, *dir = NULL;
-	size_t pfxlen;
+	struct opts o = { 1, 0, 0, 0, GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_SHARED_UMASK, 0, 0, 0 };
 
 	git_threads_init();
 
-	/* Process arguments */
+	parse_opts(&o, argc, argv);
 
-	for (i = 1; i < argc; ++i) {
-		char *a = argv[i];
+	/* Initialize repository. */
 
-		if (a[0] == '-')
-			no_options = 0;
-
-		if (a[0] != '-') {
-			if (dir != NULL)
-				usage("extra argument", a);
-			dir = a;
-		}
-		else if (!strcmp(a, "-q") || !strcmp(a, "--quiet"))
-			quiet = 1;
-		else if (!strcmp(a, "--bare"))
-			bare = 1;
-		else if ((pfxlen = is_prefixed(a, "--template=")) > 0)
-			template = a + pfxlen;
-		else if (!strcmp(a, "--separate-git-dir"))
-			gitdir = argv[++i];
-		else if ((pfxlen = is_prefixed(a, "--separate-git-dir=")) > 0)
-			gitdir = a + pfxlen;
-		else if (!strcmp(a, "--shared"))
-			shared = GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_SHARED_GROUP;
-		else if ((pfxlen = is_prefixed(a, "--shared=")) > 0)
-			shared = parse_shared(a + pfxlen);
-		else if (!strcmp(a, "--initial-commit"))
-			initial_commit = 1;
-		else
-			usage("unknown option", a);
-	}
-
-	if (!dir)
-		usage("must specify directory to init", NULL);
-
-	/* Initialize repository */
-
-	if (no_options) {
-		/* No options were specified, so let's demonstrate the default
+	if (o.no_options) {
+		/**
+		 * No options were specified, so let's demonstrate the default
 		 * simple case of git_repository_init() API usage...
 		 */
-
-		if (git_repository_init(&repo, dir, 0) < 0)
-			fail("Could not initialize repository", dir);
+		check_lg2(git_repository_init(&repo, o.dir, 0),
+			"Could not initialize repository", NULL);
 	}
 	else {
-		/* Some command line options were specified, so we'll use the
+		/**
+		 * Some command line options were specified, so we'll use the
 		 * extended init API to handle them
 		 */
-		git_repository_init_options opts = GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_OPTIONS_INIT;
+		git_repository_init_options initopts = GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_OPTIONS_INIT;
+		initopts.flags = GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_MKPATH;
 
-		if (bare)
-			opts.flags |= GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_BARE;
+		if (o.bare)
+			initopts.flags |= GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_BARE;
 
-		if (template) {
-			opts.flags |= GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_EXTERNAL_TEMPLATE;
-			opts.template_path = template;
+		if (o.template) {
+			initopts.flags |= GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_EXTERNAL_TEMPLATE;
+			initopts.template_path = o.template;
 		}
 
-		if (gitdir) {
-			/* if you specified a separate git directory, then initialize
+		if (o.gitdir) {
+			/**
+			 * If you specified a separate git directory, then initialize
 			 * the repository at that path and use the second path as the
 			 * working directory of the repository (with a git-link file)
 			 */
-			opts.workdir_path = dir;
-			dir = gitdir;
+			initopts.workdir_path = o.dir;
+			o.dir = o.gitdir;
 		}
 
-		if (shared != 0)
-			opts.mode = shared;
+		if (o.shared != 0)
+			initopts.mode = o.shared;
 
-		if (git_repository_init_ext(&repo, dir, &opts) < 0)
-			fail("Could not initialize repository", dir);
+		check_lg2(git_repository_init_ext(&repo, o.dir, &initopts),
+				"Could not initialize repository", NULL);
 	}
 
-	/* Print a message to stdout like "git init" does */
+	/** Print a message to stdout like "git init" does. */
 
-	if (!quiet) {
-		if (bare || gitdir)
-			dir = git_repository_path(repo);
+	if (!o.quiet) {
+		if (o.bare || o.gitdir)
+			o.dir = git_repository_path(repo);
 		else
-			dir = git_repository_workdir(repo);
+			o.dir = git_repository_workdir(repo);
 
-		printf("Initialized empty Git repository in %s\n", dir);
+		printf("Initialized empty Git repository in %s\n", o.dir);
 	}
 
-	/* As an extension to the basic "git init" command, this example
+	/**
+	 * As an extension to the basic "git init" command, this example
 	 * gives the option to create an empty initial commit.  This is
 	 * mostly to demonstrate what it takes to do that, but also some
 	 * people like to have that empty base commit in their repo.
 	 */
-	if (initial_commit) {
+	if (o.initial_commit) {
 		create_initial_commit(repo);
 		printf("Created empty initial commit\n");
 	}
@@ -191,7 +114,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	return 0;
 }
 
-/* Unlike regular "git init", this example shows how to create an initial
+/**
+ * Unlike regular "git init", this example shows how to create an initial
  * empty commit in the repository.  This is the helper function that does
  * that.
  */
@@ -202,31 +126,33 @@ static void create_initial_commit(git_repository *repo)
 	git_oid tree_id, commit_id;
 	git_tree *tree;
 
-	/* First use the config to initialize a commit signature for the user */
+	/** First use the config to initialize a commit signature for the user. */
 
 	if (git_signature_default(&sig, repo) < 0)
-		fail("Unable to create a commit signature.",
-			 "Perhaps 'user.name' and 'user.email' are not set");
+		fatal("Unable to create a commit signature.",
+		      "Perhaps 'user.name' and 'user.email' are not set");
 
 	/* Now let's create an empty tree for this commit */
 
 	if (git_repository_index(&index, repo) < 0)
-		fail("Could not open repository index", NULL);
+		fatal("Could not open repository index", NULL);
 
-	/* Outside of this example, you could call git_index_add_bypath()
+	/**
+	 * Outside of this example, you could call git_index_add_bypath()
 	 * here to put actual files into the index.  For our purposes, we'll
 	 * leave it empty for now.
 	 */
 
 	if (git_index_write_tree(&tree_id, index) < 0)
-		fail("Unable to write initial tree from index", NULL);
+		fatal("Unable to write initial tree from index", NULL);
 
 	git_index_free(index);
 
 	if (git_tree_lookup(&tree, repo, &tree_id) < 0)
-		fail("Could not look up initial tree", NULL);
+		fatal("Could not look up initial tree", NULL);
 
-	/* Ready to create the initial commit
+	/**
+	 * Ready to create the initial commit.
 	 *
 	 * Normally creating a commit would involve looking up the current
 	 * HEAD commit and making that be the parent of the initial commit,
@@ -236,10 +162,85 @@ static void create_initial_commit(git_repository *repo)
 	if (git_commit_create_v(
 			&commit_id, repo, "HEAD", sig, sig,
 			NULL, "Initial commit", tree, 0) < 0)
-		fail("Could not create the initial commit", NULL);
+		fatal("Could not create the initial commit", NULL);
 
-	/* Clean up so we don't leak memory */
+	/** Clean up so we don't leak memory. */
 
 	git_tree_free(tree);
 	git_signature_free(sig);
 }
+
+static void usage(const char *error, const char *arg)
+{
+	fprintf(stderr, "error: %s '%s'\n", error, arg);
+	fprintf(stderr,
+			"usage: init [-q | --quiet] [--bare] [--template=<dir>]\n"
+			"            [--shared[=perms]] [--initial-commit]\n"
+			"            [--separate-git-dir] <directory>\n");
+	exit(1);
+}
+
+/** Parse the tail of the --shared= argument. */
+static uint32_t parse_shared(const char *shared)
+{
+	if (!strcmp(shared, "false") || !strcmp(shared, "umask"))
+		return GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_SHARED_UMASK;
+
+	else if (!strcmp(shared, "true") || !strcmp(shared, "group"))
+		return GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_SHARED_GROUP;
+
+	else if (!strcmp(shared, "all") || !strcmp(shared, "world") ||
+			 !strcmp(shared, "everybody"))
+		return GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_SHARED_ALL;
+
+	else if (shared[0] == '0') {
+		long val;
+		char *end = NULL;
+		val = strtol(shared + 1, &end, 8);
+		if (end == shared + 1 || *end != 0)
+			usage("invalid octal value for --shared", shared);
+		return (uint32_t)val;
+	}
+
+	else
+		usage("unknown value for --shared", shared);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static void parse_opts(struct opts *o, int argc, char *argv[])
+{
+	struct args_info args = ARGS_INFO_INIT;
+	const char *sharedarg;
+
+	/** Process arguments. */
+
+	for (args.pos = 1; args.pos < argc; ++args.pos) {
+		char *a = argv[args.pos];
+
+		if (a[0] == '-')
+			o->no_options = 0;
+
+		if (a[0] != '-') {
+			if (o->dir != NULL)
+				usage("extra argument", a);
+			o->dir = a;
+		}
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "-q") || !strcmp(a, "--quiet"))
+			o->quiet = 1;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "--bare"))
+			o->bare = 1;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "--shared"))
+			o->shared = GIT_REPOSITORY_INIT_SHARED_GROUP;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "--initial-commit"))
+			o->initial_commit = 1;
+		else if (match_str_arg(&sharedarg, &args, "--shared"))
+			o->shared = parse_shared(sharedarg);
+		else if (!match_str_arg(&o->template, &args, "--template") ||
+		         !match_str_arg(&o->gitdir, &args, "--separate-git-dir"))
+			usage("unknown option", a);
+	}
+
+	if (!o->dir)
+		usage("must specify directory to init", NULL);
+}
diff --git a/examples/log.c b/examples/log.c
index 81b056c..a36d4c9 100644
--- a/examples/log.c
+++ b/examples/log.c
@@ -1,88 +1,205 @@
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <git2.h>
-#include <stdlib.h>
-#include <string.h>
-
-static void check(int error, const char *message, const char *arg)
-{
-	if (!error)
-		return;
-	if (arg)
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s '%s' (%d)\n", message, arg, error);
-	else
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s (%d)\n", message, error);
-	exit(1);
-}
-
-static void usage(const char *message, const char *arg)
-{
-	if (message && arg)
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", message, arg);
-	else if (message)
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", message);
-	fprintf(stderr, "usage: log [<options>]\n");
-	exit(1);
-}
-
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) the libgit2 contributors. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This file is part of libgit2, distributed under the GNU GPL v2 with
+ * a Linking Exception. For full terms see the included COPYING file.
+ */
+
+#include "common.h"
+
+/**
+ * This example demonstrates the libgit2 rev walker APIs to roughly
+ * simulate the output of `git log` and a few of command line arguments.
+ * `git log` has many many options and this only shows a few of them.
+ *
+ * This does not have:
+ *
+ * - Robust error handling
+ * - Colorized or paginated output formatting
+ * - Most of the `git log` options
+ *
+ * This does have:
+ *
+ * - Examples of translating command line arguments to equivalent libgit2
+ *   revwalker configuration calls
+ * - Simplified options to apply pathspec limits and to show basic diffs
+ */
+
+/** log_state represents walker being configured while handling options */
 struct log_state {
 	git_repository *repo;
 	const char *repodir;
 	git_revwalk *walker;
 	int hide;
 	int sorting;
+	int revisions;
 };
 
-static void set_sorting(struct log_state *s, unsigned int sort_mode)
+/** utility functions that are called to configure the walker */
+static void set_sorting(struct log_state *s, unsigned int sort_mode);
+static void push_rev(struct log_state *s, git_object *obj, int hide);
+static int add_revision(struct log_state *s, const char *revstr);
+
+/** log_options holds other command line options that affect log output */
+struct log_options {
+	int show_diff;
+	int skip, limit;
+	int min_parents, max_parents;
+	git_time_t before;
+	git_time_t after;
+	char *author;
+	char *committer;
+};
+
+/** utility functions that parse options and help with log output */
+static int parse_options(
+	struct log_state *s, struct log_options *opt, int argc, char **argv);
+static void print_time(const git_time *intime, const char *prefix);
+static void print_commit(git_commit *commit);
+static int match_with_parent(git_commit *commit, int i, git_diff_options *);
+
+
+int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	if (!s->repo) {
-		if (!s->repodir) s->repodir = ".";
-		check(git_repository_open_ext(&s->repo, s->repodir, 0, NULL),
-			"Could not open repository", s->repodir);
-	}
+	int i, count = 0, printed = 0, parents, last_arg;
+	struct log_state s;
+	struct log_options opt;
+	git_diff_options diffopts = GIT_DIFF_OPTIONS_INIT;
+	git_oid oid;
+	git_commit *commit = NULL;
+	git_pathspec *ps = NULL;
 
-	if (!s->walker)
-		check(git_revwalk_new(&s->walker, s->repo),
-			"Could not create revision walker", NULL);
+	git_threads_init();
 
-	if (sort_mode == GIT_SORT_REVERSE)
-		s->sorting = s->sorting ^ GIT_SORT_REVERSE;
-	else
-		s->sorting = sort_mode | (s->sorting & GIT_SORT_REVERSE);
+	/** Parse arguments and set up revwalker. */
 
-	git_revwalk_sorting(s->walker, s->sorting);
+	last_arg = parse_options(&s, &opt, argc, argv);
+
+	diffopts.pathspec.strings = &argv[last_arg];
+	diffopts.pathspec.count	  = argc - last_arg;
+	if (diffopts.pathspec.count > 0)
+		check_lg2(git_pathspec_new(&ps, &diffopts.pathspec),
+			"Building pathspec", NULL);
+
+	if (!s.revisions)
+		add_revision(&s, NULL);
+
+	/** Use the revwalker to traverse the history. */
+
+	printed = count = 0;
+
+	for (; !git_revwalk_next(&oid, s.walker); git_commit_free(commit)) {
+		check_lg2(git_commit_lookup(&commit, s.repo, &oid),
+			"Failed to look up commit", NULL);
+
+		parents = (int)git_commit_parentcount(commit);
+		if (parents < opt.min_parents)
+			continue;
+		if (opt.max_parents > 0 && parents > opt.max_parents)
+			continue;
+
+		if (diffopts.pathspec.count > 0) {
+			int unmatched = parents;
+
+			if (parents == 0) {
+				git_tree *tree;
+				check_lg2(git_commit_tree(&tree, commit), "Get tree", NULL);
+				if (git_pathspec_match_tree(
+						NULL, tree, GIT_PATHSPEC_NO_MATCH_ERROR, ps) != 0)
+					unmatched = 1;
+				git_tree_free(tree);
+			} else if (parents == 1) {
+				unmatched = match_with_parent(commit, 0, &diffopts) ? 0 : 1;
+			} else {
+				for (i = 0; i < parents; ++i) {
+					if (match_with_parent(commit, i, &diffopts))
+						unmatched--;
+				}
+			}
+
+			if (unmatched > 0)
+				continue;
+		}
+
+		if (count++ < opt.skip)
+			continue;
+		if (opt.limit != -1 && printed++ >= opt.limit) {
+			git_commit_free(commit);
+			break;
+		}
+
+		print_commit(commit);
+
+		if (opt.show_diff) {
+			git_tree *a = NULL, *b = NULL;
+			git_diff *diff = NULL;
+
+			if (parents > 1)
+				continue;
+			check_lg2(git_commit_tree(&b, commit), "Get tree", NULL);
+			if (parents == 1) {
+				git_commit *parent;
+				check_lg2(git_commit_parent(&parent, commit, 0), "Get parent", NULL);
+				check_lg2(git_commit_tree(&a, parent), "Tree for parent", NULL);
+				git_commit_free(parent);
+			}
+
+			check_lg2(git_diff_tree_to_tree(
+				&diff, git_commit_owner(commit), a, b, &diffopts),
+				"Diff commit with parent", NULL);
+			check_lg2(
+                git_diff_print(diff, GIT_DIFF_FORMAT_PATCH, diff_output, NULL),
+				"Displaying diff", NULL);
+
+			git_diff_free(diff);
+			git_tree_free(a);
+			git_tree_free(b);
+		}
+	}
+
+	git_pathspec_free(ps);
+	git_revwalk_free(s.walker);
+	git_repository_free(s.repo);
+	git_threads_shutdown();
+
+	return 0;
 }
 
+/** Push object (for hide or show) onto revwalker. */
 static void push_rev(struct log_state *s, git_object *obj, int hide)
 {
 	hide = s->hide ^ hide;
 
+	/** Create revwalker on demand if it doesn't already exist. */
 	if (!s->walker) {
-		check(git_revwalk_new(&s->walker, s->repo),
+		check_lg2(git_revwalk_new(&s->walker, s->repo),
 			"Could not create revision walker", NULL);
 		git_revwalk_sorting(s->walker, s->sorting);
 	}
 
 	if (!obj)
-		check(git_revwalk_push_head(s->walker),
+		check_lg2(git_revwalk_push_head(s->walker),
 			"Could not find repository HEAD", NULL);
 	else if (hide)
-		check(git_revwalk_hide(s->walker, git_object_id(obj)),
+		check_lg2(git_revwalk_hide(s->walker, git_object_id(obj)),
 			"Reference does not refer to a commit", NULL);
 	else
-		check(git_revwalk_push(s->walker, git_object_id(obj)),
+		check_lg2(git_revwalk_push(s->walker, git_object_id(obj)),
 			"Reference does not refer to a commit", NULL);
 
 	git_object_free(obj);
 }
 
+/** Parse revision string and add revs to walker. */
 static int add_revision(struct log_state *s, const char *revstr)
 {
 	git_revspec revs;
 	int hide = 0;
 
+	/** Open repo on demand if it isn't already open. */
 	if (!s->repo) {
 		if (!s->repodir) s->repodir = ".";
-		check(git_repository_open_ext(&s->repo, s->repodir, 0, NULL),
+		check_lg2(git_repository_open_ext(&s->repo, s->repodir, 0, NULL),
 			"Could not open repository", s->repodir);
 	}
 
@@ -107,10 +224,11 @@ static int add_revision(struct log_state *s, const char *revstr)
 
 		if ((revs.flags & GIT_REVPARSE_MERGE_BASE) != 0) {
 			git_oid base;
-			check(git_merge_base(&base, s->repo,
+			check_lg2(git_merge_base(&base, s->repo,
 				git_object_id(revs.from), git_object_id(revs.to)),
 				"Could not find merge base", revstr);
-			check(git_object_lookup(&revs.to, s->repo, &base, GIT_OBJ_COMMIT),
+			check_lg2(
+				git_object_lookup(&revs.to, s->repo, &base, GIT_OBJ_COMMIT),
 				"Could not find merge base commit", NULL);
 
 			push_rev(s, revs.to, hide);
@@ -122,6 +240,30 @@ static int add_revision(struct log_state *s, const char *revstr)
 	return 0;
 }
 
+/** Update revwalker with sorting mode. */
+static void set_sorting(struct log_state *s, unsigned int sort_mode)
+{
+	/** Open repo on demand if it isn't already open. */
+	if (!s->repo) {
+		if (!s->repodir) s->repodir = ".";
+		check_lg2(git_repository_open_ext(&s->repo, s->repodir, 0, NULL),
+			"Could not open repository", s->repodir);
+	}
+
+	/** Create revwalker on demand if it doesn't already exist. */
+	if (!s->walker)
+		check_lg2(git_revwalk_new(&s->walker, s->repo),
+			"Could not create revision walker", NULL);
+
+	if (sort_mode == GIT_SORT_REVERSE)
+		s->sorting = s->sorting ^ GIT_SORT_REVERSE;
+	else
+		s->sorting = sort_mode | (s->sorting & GIT_SORT_REVERSE);
+
+	git_revwalk_sorting(s->walker, s->sorting);
+}
+
+/** Helper to format a git_time value like Git. */
 static void print_time(const git_time *intime, const char *prefix)
 {
 	char sign, out[32];
@@ -148,6 +290,7 @@ static void print_time(const git_time *intime, const char *prefix)
 	printf("%s%s %c%02d%02d\n", prefix, out, sign, hours, minutes);
 }
 
+/** Helper to print a commit object. */
 static void print_commit(git_commit *commit)
 {
 	char buf[GIT_OID_HEXSZ + 1];
@@ -182,54 +325,21 @@ static void print_commit(git_commit *commit)
 	printf("\n");
 }
 
-static int print_diff(
-	const git_diff_delta *delta,
-	const git_diff_hunk *hunk,
-	const git_diff_line *line,
-	void *data)
-{
-	(void)delta; (void)hunk; (void)data;
-
-	if (line->origin == GIT_DIFF_LINE_CONTEXT ||
-		line->origin == GIT_DIFF_LINE_ADDITION ||
-		line->origin == GIT_DIFF_LINE_DELETION)
-		fputc(line->origin, stdout);
-
-	fwrite(line->content, 1, line->content_len, stdout);
-	return 0;
-}
-
-static int match_int(int *value, const char *arg, int allow_negative)
-{
-	char *found;
-	*value = (int)strtol(arg, &found, 10);
-	return (found && *found == '\0' && (allow_negative || *value >= 0));
-}
-
-static int match_int_arg(
-	int *value, const char *arg, const char *pfx, int allow_negative)
-{
-	size_t pfxlen = strlen(pfx);
-	if (strncmp(arg, pfx, pfxlen) != 0)
-		return 0;
-	if (!match_int(value, arg + pfxlen, allow_negative))
-		usage("Invalid value after argument", arg);
-	return 1;
-}
-
-static int match_with_parent(
-	git_commit *commit, int i, git_diff_options *opts)
+/** Helper to find how many files in a commit changed from its nth parent. */
+static int match_with_parent(git_commit *commit, int i, git_diff_options *opts)
 {
 	git_commit *parent;
 	git_tree *a, *b;
 	git_diff *diff;
 	int ndeltas;
 
-	check(git_commit_parent(&parent, commit, (size_t)i), "Get parent", NULL);
-	check(git_commit_tree(&a, parent), "Tree for parent", NULL);
-	check(git_commit_tree(&b, commit), "Tree for commit", NULL);
-	check(git_diff_tree_to_tree(&diff, git_commit_owner(commit), a, b, opts),
-		  "Checking diff between parent and commit", NULL);
+	check_lg2(
+		git_commit_parent(&parent, commit, (size_t)i), "Get parent", NULL);
+	check_lg2(git_commit_tree(&a, parent), "Tree for parent", NULL);
+	check_lg2(git_commit_tree(&b, commit), "Tree for commit", NULL);
+	check_lg2(
+		git_diff_tree_to_tree(&diff, git_commit_owner(commit), a, b, opts),
+		"Checking diff between parent and commit", NULL);
 
 	ndeltas = (int)git_diff_num_deltas(diff);
 
@@ -241,170 +351,77 @@ static int match_with_parent(
 	return ndeltas > 0;
 }
 
-struct log_options {
-	int show_diff;
-	int skip, limit;
-	int min_parents, max_parents;
-	git_time_t before;
-	git_time_t after;
-	char *author;
-	char *committer;
-};
-
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+/** Print a usage message for the program. */
+static void usage(const char *message, const char *arg)
 {
-	int i, count = 0, printed = 0, parents;
-	char *a;
-	struct log_state s;
-	struct log_options opt;
-	git_diff_options diffopts = GIT_DIFF_OPTIONS_INIT;
-	git_oid oid;
-	git_commit *commit = NULL;
-	git_pathspec *ps = NULL;
+	if (message && arg)
+		fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", message, arg);
+	else if (message)
+		fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", message);
+	fprintf(stderr, "usage: log [<options>]\n");
+	exit(1);
+}
 
-	git_threads_init();
+/** Parse some log command line options. */
+static int parse_options(
+	struct log_state *s, struct log_options *opt, int argc, char **argv)
+{
+	struct args_info args = ARGS_INFO_INIT;
 
-	memset(&s, 0, sizeof(s));
-	s.sorting = GIT_SORT_TIME;
+	memset(s, 0, sizeof(*s));
+	s->sorting = GIT_SORT_TIME;
 
-	memset(&opt, 0, sizeof(opt));
-	opt.max_parents = -1;
- 	opt.limit = -1;
+	memset(opt, 0, sizeof(*opt));
+	opt->max_parents = -1;
+	opt->limit = -1;
 
-	for (i = 1; i < argc; ++i) {
-		a = argv[i];
+	for (args.pos = 1; args.pos < argc; ++args.pos) {
+		const char *a = argv[args.pos];
 
 		if (a[0] != '-') {
-			if (!add_revision(&s, a))
-				++count;
-			else /* try failed revision parse as filename */
+			if (!add_revision(s, a))
+				s->revisions++;
+			else
+				/** Try failed revision parse as filename. */
 				break;
 		} else if (!strcmp(a, "--")) {
-			++i;
+			++args.pos;
 			break;
 		}
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--date-order"))
-			set_sorting(&s, GIT_SORT_TIME);
+			set_sorting(s, GIT_SORT_TIME);
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--topo-order"))
-			set_sorting(&s, GIT_SORT_TOPOLOGICAL);
+			set_sorting(s, GIT_SORT_TOPOLOGICAL);
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--reverse"))
-			set_sorting(&s, GIT_SORT_REVERSE);
-		else if (!strncmp(a, "--git-dir=", strlen("--git-dir=")))
-			s.repodir = a + strlen("--git-dir=");
-		else if (match_int_arg(&opt.skip, a, "--skip=", 0))
-			/* found valid --skip */;
-		else if (match_int_arg(&opt.limit, a, "--max-count=", 0))
-			/* found valid --max-count */;
-		else if (a[1] >= '0' && a[1] <= '9') {
-			if (!match_int(&opt.limit, a + 1, 0))
-				usage("Invalid limit on number of commits", a);
-		} else if (!strcmp(a, "-n")) {
-			if (i + 1 == argc || !match_int(&opt.limit, argv[i + 1], 0))
-				usage("Argument -n not followed by valid count", argv[i + 1]);
-			else
-				++i;
-		}
+			set_sorting(s, GIT_SORT_REVERSE);
+		else if (match_str_arg(&s->repodir, &args, "--git-dir"))
+			/** Found git-dir. */;
+		else if (match_int_arg(&opt->skip, &args, "--skip", 0))
+			/** Found valid --skip. */;
+		else if (match_int_arg(&opt->limit, &args, "--max-count", 0))
+			/** Found valid --max-count. */;
+		else if (a[1] >= '0' && a[1] <= '9')
+			is_integer(&opt->limit, a + 1, 0);
+		else if (match_int_arg(&opt->limit, &args, "-n", 0))
+			/** Found valid -n. */;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--merges"))
-			opt.min_parents = 2;
+			opt->min_parents = 2;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--no-merges"))
-			opt.max_parents = 1;
+			opt->max_parents = 1;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--no-min-parents"))
-			opt.min_parents = 0;
+			opt->min_parents = 0;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "--no-max-parents"))
-			opt.max_parents = -1;
-		else if (match_int_arg(&opt.max_parents, a, "--max-parents=", 1))
-			/* found valid --max-parents */;
-		else if (match_int_arg(&opt.min_parents, a, "--min-parents=", 0))
-			/* found valid --min_parents */;
+			opt->max_parents = -1;
+		else if (match_int_arg(&opt->max_parents, &args, "--max-parents=", 1))
+			/** Found valid --max-parents. */;
+		else if (match_int_arg(&opt->min_parents, &args, "--min-parents=", 0))
+			/** Found valid --min_parents. */;
 		else if (!strcmp(a, "-p") || !strcmp(a, "-u") || !strcmp(a, "--patch"))
-			opt.show_diff = 1;
+			opt->show_diff = 1;
 		else
 			usage("Unsupported argument", a);
 	}
 
-	if (!count)
-		add_revision(&s, NULL);
-
-	diffopts.pathspec.strings = &argv[i];
-	diffopts.pathspec.count   = argc - i;
-	if (diffopts.pathspec.count > 0)
-		check(git_pathspec_new(&ps, &diffopts.pathspec),
-			"Building pathspec", NULL);
-
-	printed = count = 0;
-
-	for (; !git_revwalk_next(&oid, s.walker); git_commit_free(commit)) {
-		check(git_commit_lookup(&commit, s.repo, &oid),
-			"Failed to look up commit", NULL);
-
-		parents = (int)git_commit_parentcount(commit);
-		if (parents < opt.min_parents)
-			continue;
-		if (opt.max_parents > 0 && parents > opt.max_parents)
-			continue;
-
-		if (diffopts.pathspec.count > 0) {
-			int unmatched = parents;
-
-			if (parents == 0) {
-				git_tree *tree;
-				check(git_commit_tree(&tree, commit), "Get tree", NULL);
-				if (git_pathspec_match_tree(
-						NULL, tree, GIT_PATHSPEC_NO_MATCH_ERROR, ps) != 0)
-					unmatched = 1;
-				git_tree_free(tree);
-			} else if (parents == 1) {
-				unmatched = match_with_parent(commit, 0, &diffopts) ? 0 : 1;
-			} else {
-				for (i = 0; i < parents; ++i) {
-					if (match_with_parent(commit, i, &diffopts))
-						unmatched--;
-				}
-			}
-
-			if (unmatched > 0)
-				continue;
-		}
-
-		if (count++ < opt.skip)
-			continue;
-		if (opt.limit != -1 && printed++ >= opt.limit) {
-			git_commit_free(commit);
-			break;
-		}
-
-		print_commit(commit);
-
-		if (opt.show_diff) {
-			git_tree *a = NULL, *b = NULL;
-			git_diff *diff = NULL;
-
-			if (parents > 1)
-				continue;
-			check(git_commit_tree(&b, commit), "Get tree", NULL);
-			if (parents == 1) {
-				git_commit *parent;
-				check(git_commit_parent(&parent, commit, 0), "Get parent", NULL);
-				check(git_commit_tree(&a, parent), "Tree for parent", NULL);
-				git_commit_free(parent);
-			}
-
-			check(git_diff_tree_to_tree(
-				&diff, git_commit_owner(commit), a, b, &diffopts),
-				"Diff commit with parent", NULL);
-			check(git_diff_print(diff, GIT_DIFF_FORMAT_PATCH, print_diff, NULL),
-				"Displaying diff", NULL);
-
-			git_diff_free(diff);
-			git_tree_free(a);
-			git_tree_free(b);
-		}
-	}
-
-	git_pathspec_free(ps);
-	git_revwalk_free(s.walker);
-	git_repository_free(s.repo);
-	git_threads_shutdown();
-
-	return 0;
+	return args.pos;
 }
+
diff --git a/examples/network/fetch.c b/examples/network/fetch.c
index 4167ef3..ad01001 100644
--- a/examples/network/fetch.c
+++ b/examples/network/fetch.c
@@ -47,6 +47,11 @@ exit:
 	return &data->ret;
 }
 
+/**
+ * This function gets called for each remote-tracking branch that gets
+ * updated. The message we output depends on whether it's a new one or
+ * an update.
+ */
 static int update_cb(const char *refname, const git_oid *a, const git_oid *b, void *data)
 {
 	char a_str[GIT_OID_HEXSZ+1], b_str[GIT_OID_HEXSZ+1];
@@ -66,6 +71,7 @@ static int update_cb(const char *refname, const git_oid *a, const git_oid *b, vo
 	return 0;
 }
 
+/** Entry point for this command */
 int fetch(git_repository *repo, int argc, char **argv)
 {
 	git_remote *remote = NULL;
@@ -130,6 +136,11 @@ int fetch(git_repository *repo, int argc, char **argv)
 	pthread_join(worker, NULL);
 #endif
 
+	/**
+	 * If there are local objects (we got a thin pack), then tell
+	 * the user how many objects we saved from having to cross the
+	 * network.
+	 */
 	if (stats->local_objects > 0) {
 		printf("\rReceived %d/%d objects in %zu bytes (used %d local objects)\n",
 		       stats->indexed_objects, stats->total_objects, stats->received_bytes, stats->local_objects);
diff --git a/examples/network/ls-remote.c b/examples/network/ls-remote.c
index b65759e..18cd023 100644
--- a/examples/network/ls-remote.c
+++ b/examples/network/ls-remote.c
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 #include <string.h>
 #include "common.h"
 
+/** Callback to show each item */
 static int show_ref__cb(git_remote_head *head, void *payload)
 {
 	char oid[GIT_OID_HEXSZ + 1] = {0};
@@ -28,6 +29,10 @@ static int use_remote(git_repository *repo, char *name)
 			goto cleanup;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Connect to the remote and call the printing function for
+	 * each of the remote references.
+	 */
 	callbacks.credentials = cred_acquire_cb;
 	git_remote_set_callbacks(remote, &callbacks);
 
@@ -42,9 +47,7 @@ cleanup:
 	return error;
 }
 
-// This gets called to do the work. The remote can be given either as
-// the name of a configured remote or an URL.
-
+/** Entry point for this command */
 int ls_remote(git_repository *repo, int argc, char **argv)
 {
 	int error;
diff --git a/examples/rev-list.c b/examples/rev-list.c
index 1fb7ebf..9330c64 100644
--- a/examples/rev-list.c
+++ b/examples/rev-list.c
@@ -1,17 +1,35 @@
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <string.h>
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) the libgit2 contributors. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This file is part of libgit2, distributed under the GNU GPL v2 with
+ * a Linking Exception. For full terms see the included COPYING file.
+ */
 
-#include <git2.h>
+#include "common.h"
 
-static void check_error(int error_code, const char *action)
+static int revwalk_parseopts(git_repository *repo, git_revwalk *walk, int nopts, char **opts);
+
+int main (int argc, char **argv)
 {
-	if (!error_code)
-		return;
+	git_repository *repo;
+	git_revwalk *walk;
+	git_oid oid;
+	char buf[41];
+
+	git_threads_init();
 
-	const git_error *error = giterr_last();
-	fprintf(stderr, "Error %d %s: %s\n", -error_code, action,
-	        (error && error->message) ? error->message : "???");
-	exit(1);
+	check_lg2(git_repository_open_ext(&repo, ".", 0, NULL), "opening repository", NULL);
+	check_lg2(git_revwalk_new(&walk, repo), "allocating revwalk", NULL);
+	check_lg2(revwalk_parseopts(repo, walk, argc-1, argv+1), "parsing options", NULL);
+
+	while (!git_revwalk_next(&oid, walk)) {
+		git_oid_fmt(buf, &oid);
+		buf[40] = '\0';
+		printf("%s\n", buf);
+	}
+
+	git_threads_shutdown();
+	return 0;
 }
 
 static int push_commit(git_revwalk *walk, const git_oid *oid, int hide)
@@ -93,27 +111,3 @@ static int revwalk_parseopts(git_repository *repo, git_revwalk *walk, int nopts,
 	return 0;
 }
 
-int main (int argc, char **argv)
-{
-	int error;
-	git_repository *repo;
-	git_revwalk *walk;
-	git_oid oid;
-	char buf[41];
-
-	error = git_repository_open_ext(&repo, ".", 0, NULL);
-	check_error(error, "opening repository");
-
-	error = git_revwalk_new(&walk, repo);
-	check_error(error, "allocating revwalk");
-	error = revwalk_parseopts(repo, walk, argc-1, argv+1);
-	check_error(error, "parsing options");
-
-	while (!git_revwalk_next(&oid, walk)) {
-		git_oid_fmt(buf, &oid);
-		buf[40] = '\0';
-		printf("%s\n", buf);
-	}
-
-	return 0;
-}
diff --git a/examples/rev-parse.c b/examples/rev-parse.c
index cdbb61e..64a02fe 100644
--- a/examples/rev-parse.c
+++ b/examples/rev-parse.c
@@ -1,17 +1,36 @@
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <git2.h>
-#include <stdlib.h>
-#include <string.h>
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) the libgit2 contributors. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This file is part of libgit2, distributed under the GNU GPL v2 with
+ * a Linking Exception. For full terms see the included COPYING file.
+ */
 
-static void check(int error, const char *message, const char *arg)
+#include "common.h"
+
+/** Forward declarations for helpers. */
+struct parse_state {
+	git_repository *repo;
+	const char *repodir;
+	const char *spec;
+	int not;
+};
+static void parse_opts(struct parse_state *ps, int argc, char *argv[]);
+static int parse_revision(struct parse_state *ps);
+
+
+int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	if (!error)
-		return;
-	if (arg)
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s %s (%d)\n", message, arg, error);
-	else
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s(%d)\n", message, error);
-	exit(1);
+	struct parse_state ps = {0};
+
+	git_threads_init();
+	parse_opts(&ps, argc, argv);
+
+	check_lg2(parse_revision(&ps), "Parsing", NULL);
+
+	git_repository_free(ps.repo);
+	git_threads_shutdown();
+
+	return 0;
 }
 
 static void usage(const char *message, const char *arg)
@@ -24,13 +43,25 @@ static void usage(const char *message, const char *arg)
 	exit(1);
 }
 
-struct parse_state {
-	git_repository *repo;
-	const char *repodir;
-	int not;
-};
+static void parse_opts(struct parse_state *ps, int argc, char *argv[])
+{
+	struct args_info args = ARGS_INFO_INIT;
 
-static int parse_revision(struct parse_state *ps, const char *revstr)
+	for (args.pos=1; args.pos < argc; ++args.pos) {
+		const char *a = argv[args.pos];
+
+		if (a[0] != '-') {
+			if (ps->spec)
+				usage("Too many specs", a);
+			ps->spec = a;
+		} else if (!strcmp(a, "--not"))
+			ps->not = !ps->not;
+		else if (!match_str_arg(&ps->repodir, &args, "--git-dir"))
+			usage("Cannot handle argument", a);
+	}
+}
+
+static int parse_revision(struct parse_state *ps)
 {
 	git_revspec rs;
 	char str[GIT_OID_HEXSZ + 1];
@@ -38,11 +69,11 @@ static int parse_revision(struct parse_state *ps, const char *revstr)
 	if (!ps->repo) {
 		if (!ps->repodir)
 			ps->repodir = ".";
-		check(git_repository_open_ext(&ps->repo, ps->repodir, 0, NULL),
+		check_lg2(git_repository_open_ext(&ps->repo, ps->repodir, 0, NULL),
 			"Could not open repository from", ps->repodir);
 	}
 
-	check(git_revparse(&rs, ps->repo, revstr), "Could not parse", revstr);
+	check_lg2(git_revparse(&rs, ps->repo, ps->spec), "Could not parse", ps->spec);
 
 	if ((rs.flags & GIT_REVPARSE_SINGLE) != 0) {
 		git_oid_tostr(str, sizeof(str), git_object_id(rs.from));
@@ -56,9 +87,9 @@ static int parse_revision(struct parse_state *ps, const char *revstr)
 
 		if ((rs.flags & GIT_REVPARSE_MERGE_BASE) != 0) {
 			git_oid base;
-			check(git_merge_base(&base, ps->repo,
-				git_object_id(rs.from), git_object_id(rs.to)),
-				"Could not find merge base", revstr);
+			check_lg2(git_merge_base(&base, ps->repo,
+						git_object_id(rs.from), git_object_id(rs.to)),
+					"Could not find merge base", ps->spec);
 
 			git_oid_tostr(str, sizeof(str), &base);
 			printf("%s\n", str);
@@ -69,38 +100,9 @@ static int parse_revision(struct parse_state *ps, const char *revstr)
 		git_object_free(rs.from);
 	}
 	else {
-		check(0, "Invalid results from git_revparse", revstr);
+		fatal("Invalid results from git_revparse", ps->spec);
 	}
 
 	return 0;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
-{
-	int i;
-	char *a;
-	struct parse_state ps;
-
-	git_threads_init();
-
-	memset(&ps, 0, sizeof(ps));
-
-	for (i = 1; i < argc; ++i) {
-		a = argv[i];
-
-		if (a[0] != '-') {
-			if (parse_revision(&ps, a) != 0)
-				break;
-		} else if (!strcmp(a, "--not"))
-			ps.not = !ps.not;
-		else if (!strncmp(a, "--git-dir=", strlen("--git-dir=")))
-			ps.repodir = a + strlen("--git-dir=");
-		else
-			usage("Cannot handle argument", a);
-	}
-
-	git_repository_free(ps.repo);
-	git_threads_shutdown();
-
-	return 0;
-}
diff --git a/examples/showindex.c b/examples/showindex.c
index 93718c8..bf85238 100644
--- a/examples/showindex.c
+++ b/examples/showindex.c
@@ -1,10 +1,14 @@
-#include <git2.h>
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <string.h>
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) the libgit2 contributors. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This file is part of libgit2, distributed under the GNU GPL v2 with
+ * a Linking Exception. For full terms see the included COPYING file.
+ */
+
+#include "common.h"
 
 int main (int argc, char** argv)
 {
-	git_repository *repo = NULL;
 	git_index *index;
 	unsigned int i, ecount;
 	char *dir = ".";
@@ -14,28 +18,19 @@ int main (int argc, char** argv)
 
 	git_threads_init();
 
+	if (argc > 2)
+		fatal("usage: showindex [<repo-dir>]", NULL);
 	if (argc > 1)
 		dir = argv[1];
-	if (!dir || argc > 2) {
-		fprintf(stderr, "usage: showindex [<repo-dir>]\n");
-		return 1;
-	}
 
 	dirlen = strlen(dir);
 	if (dirlen > 5 && strcmp(dir + dirlen - 5, "index") == 0) {
-		if (git_index_open(&index, dir) < 0) {
-			fprintf(stderr, "could not open index: %s\n", dir);
-			return 1;
-		}
+		check_lg2(git_index_open(&index, dir), "could not open index", dir);
 	} else {
-		if (git_repository_open_ext(&repo, dir, 0, NULL) < 0) {
-			fprintf(stderr, "could not open repository: %s\n", dir);
-			return 1;
-		}
-		if (git_repository_index(&index, repo) < 0) {
-			fprintf(stderr, "could not open repository index\n");
-			return 1;
-		}
+		git_repository *repo;
+		check_lg2(git_repository_open_ext(&repo, dir, 0, NULL), "could not open repository", dir);
+		check_lg2(git_repository_index(&index, repo), "could not open repository index", NULL);
+		git_repository_free(repo);
 	}
 
 	git_index_read(index);
@@ -62,10 +57,7 @@ int main (int argc, char** argv)
 	}
 
 	git_index_free(index);
-	git_repository_free(repo);
-
 	git_threads_shutdown();
 
 	return 0;
 }
-
diff --git a/examples/status.c b/examples/status.c
index 0d9f55f..459e6fa 100644
--- a/examples/status.c
+++ b/examples/status.c
@@ -4,30 +4,22 @@
  * This file is part of libgit2, distributed under the GNU GPL v2 with
  * a Linking Exception. For full terms see the included COPYING file.
  */
-#include <git2.h>
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <stdlib.h>
-#include <string.h>
 
-enum {
-	FORMAT_DEFAULT   = 0,
-	FORMAT_LONG      = 1,
-	FORMAT_SHORT     = 2,
-	FORMAT_PORCELAIN = 3,
-};
-#define MAX_PATHSPEC 8
+#include "common.h"
 
-/*
+/**
  * This example demonstrates the use of the libgit2 status APIs,
  * particularly the `git_status_list` object, to roughly simulate the
  * output of running `git status`.  It serves as a simple example of
  * using those APIs to get basic status information.
  *
  * This does not have:
+ *
  * - Robust error handling
  * - Colorized or paginated output formatting
  *
  * This does have:
+ *
  * - Examples of translating command line arguments to the status
  *   options settings to mimic `git status` results.
  * - A sample status formatter that matches the default "long" format
@@ -35,32 +27,83 @@ enum {
  * - A sample status formatter that matches the "short" format
  */
 
-static void check(int error, const char *message, const char *extra)
+enum {
+	FORMAT_DEFAULT   = 0,
+	FORMAT_LONG      = 1,
+	FORMAT_SHORT     = 2,
+	FORMAT_PORCELAIN = 3,
+};
+
+#define MAX_PATHSPEC 8
+
+struct opts {
+    git_status_options statusopt;
+    char *repodir;
+    char *pathspec[MAX_PATHSPEC];
+    int npaths;
+    int format;
+    int zterm;
+    int showbranch;
+};
+
+static void parse_opts(struct opts *o, int argc, char *argv[]);
+static void show_branch(git_repository *repo, int format);
+static void print_long(git_repository *repo, git_status_list *status);
+static void print_short(git_repository *repo, git_status_list *status);
+
+int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	const git_error *lg2err;
-	const char *lg2msg = "", *lg2spacer = "";
+	git_repository *repo = NULL;
+	git_status_list *status;
+	struct opts o = { GIT_STATUS_OPTIONS_INIT, "." };
 
-	if (!error)
-		return;
+	git_threads_init();
 
-	if ((lg2err = giterr_last()) != NULL && lg2err->message != NULL) {
-		lg2msg = lg2err->message;
-		lg2spacer = " - ";
-	}
+	o.statusopt.show  = GIT_STATUS_SHOW_INDEX_AND_WORKDIR;
+	o.statusopt.flags = GIT_STATUS_OPT_INCLUDE_UNTRACKED |
+		GIT_STATUS_OPT_RENAMES_HEAD_TO_INDEX |
+		GIT_STATUS_OPT_SORT_CASE_SENSITIVELY;
+
+	parse_opts(&o, argc, argv);
+
+	/**
+	 * Try to open the repository at the given path (or at the current
+	 * directory if none was given).
+	 */
+	check_lg2(git_repository_open_ext(&repo, o.repodir, 0, NULL),
+		  "Could not open repository", o.repodir);
+
+	if (git_repository_is_bare(repo))
+		fatal("Cannot report status on bare repository",
+			git_repository_path(repo));
 
-	if (extra)
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s '%s' [%d]%s%s\n",
-			message, extra, error, lg2spacer, lg2msg);
+	/**
+	 * Run status on the repository
+	 *
+	 * Because we want to simluate a full "git status" run and want to
+	 * support some command line options, we use `git_status_foreach_ext()`
+	 * instead of just the plain status call.  This allows (a) iterating
+	 * over the index and then the workdir and (b) extra flags that control
+	 * which files are included.  If you just want simple status (e.g. to
+	 * enumerate files that are modified) then you probably don't need the
+	 * extended API.
+	 */
+	check_lg2(git_status_list_new(&status, repo, &o.statusopt),
+		  "Could not get status", NULL);
+
+	if (o.showbranch)
+		show_branch(repo, o.format);
+
+	if (o.format == FORMAT_LONG)
+		print_long(repo, status);
 	else
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s [%d]%s%s\n",
-			message, error, lg2spacer, lg2msg);
+		print_short(repo, status);
 
-	exit(1);
-}
+	git_status_list_free(status);
+	git_repository_free(repo);
+	git_threads_shutdown();
 
-static void fail(const char *message)
-{
-	check(-1, message, NULL);
+	return 0;
 }
 
 static void show_branch(git_repository *repo, int format)
@@ -78,7 +121,7 @@ static void show_branch(git_repository *repo, int format)
 		if (!strncmp(branch, "refs/heads/", strlen("refs/heads/")))
 			branch += strlen("refs/heads/");
 	} else
-		check(error, "failed to get current branch", NULL);
+		check_lg2(error, "failed to get current branch", NULL);
 
 	if (format == FORMAT_LONG)
 		printf("# On branch %s\n",
@@ -99,7 +142,7 @@ static void print_long(git_repository *repo, git_status_list *status)
 
 	(void)repo;
 
-	/* print index changes */
+	/** Print index changes. */
 
 	for (i = 0; i < maxi; ++i) {
 		char *istatus = NULL;
@@ -148,7 +191,7 @@ static void print_long(git_repository *repo, git_status_list *status)
 	}
 	header = 0;
 
-	/* print workdir changes to tracked files */
+	/** Print workdir changes to tracked files. */
 
 	for (i = 0; i < maxi; ++i) {
 		char *wstatus = NULL;
@@ -193,7 +236,7 @@ static void print_long(git_repository *repo, git_status_list *status)
 	}
 	header = 0;
 
-	/* print untracked files */
+	/** Print untracked files. */
 
 	header = 0;
 
@@ -215,7 +258,7 @@ static void print_long(git_repository *repo, git_status_list *status)
 
 	header = 0;
 
-	/* print ignored files */
+	/** Print ignored files. */
 
 	for (i = 0; i < maxi; ++i) {
 		s = git_status_byindex(status, i);
@@ -341,103 +384,58 @@ static void print_short(git_repository *repo, git_status_list *status)
 	}
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+static void parse_opts(struct opts *o, int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	git_repository *repo = NULL;
-	int i, npaths = 0, format = FORMAT_DEFAULT, zterm = 0, showbranch = 0;
-	git_status_options opt = GIT_STATUS_OPTIONS_INIT;
-	git_status_list *status;
-	char *repodir = ".", *pathspec[MAX_PATHSPEC];
+	struct args_info args = ARGS_INFO_INIT;
 
-	opt.show  = GIT_STATUS_SHOW_INDEX_AND_WORKDIR;
-	opt.flags = GIT_STATUS_OPT_INCLUDE_UNTRACKED |
-		GIT_STATUS_OPT_RENAMES_HEAD_TO_INDEX |
-		GIT_STATUS_OPT_SORT_CASE_SENSITIVELY;
+	for (args.pos = 1; args.pos < argc; ++args.pos) {
+		char *a = argv[args.pos];
 
-	for (i = 1; i < argc; ++i) {
-		if (argv[i][0] != '-') {
-			if (npaths < MAX_PATHSPEC)
-				pathspec[npaths++] = argv[i];
+		if (a[0] != '-') {
+			if (o->npaths < MAX_PATHSPEC)
+				o->pathspec[o->npaths++] = a;
 			else
-				fail("Example only supports a limited pathspec");
+				fatal("Example only supports a limited pathspec", NULL);
 		}
-		else if (!strcmp(argv[i], "-s") || !strcmp(argv[i], "--short"))
-			format = FORMAT_SHORT;
-		else if (!strcmp(argv[i], "--long"))
-			format = FORMAT_LONG;
-		else if (!strcmp(argv[i], "--porcelain"))
-			format = FORMAT_PORCELAIN;
-		else if (!strcmp(argv[i], "-b") || !strcmp(argv[i], "--branch"))
-			showbranch = 1;
-		else if (!strcmp(argv[i], "-z")) {
-			zterm = 1;
-			if (format == FORMAT_DEFAULT)
-				format = FORMAT_PORCELAIN;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "-s") || !strcmp(a, "--short"))
+			o->format = FORMAT_SHORT;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "--long"))
+			o->format = FORMAT_LONG;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "--porcelain"))
+			o->format = FORMAT_PORCELAIN;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "-b") || !strcmp(a, "--branch"))
+			o->showbranch = 1;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "-z")) {
+			o->zterm = 1;
+			if (o->format == FORMAT_DEFAULT)
+				o->format = FORMAT_PORCELAIN;
 		}
-		else if (!strcmp(argv[i], "--ignored"))
-			opt.flags |= GIT_STATUS_OPT_INCLUDE_IGNORED;
-		else if (!strcmp(argv[i], "-uno") ||
-				 !strcmp(argv[i], "--untracked-files=no"))
-			opt.flags &= ~GIT_STATUS_OPT_INCLUDE_UNTRACKED;
-		else if (!strcmp(argv[i], "-unormal") ||
-				 !strcmp(argv[i], "--untracked-files=normal"))
-			opt.flags |= GIT_STATUS_OPT_INCLUDE_UNTRACKED;
-		else if (!strcmp(argv[i], "-uall") ||
-				 !strcmp(argv[i], "--untracked-files=all"))
-			opt.flags |= GIT_STATUS_OPT_INCLUDE_UNTRACKED |
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "--ignored"))
+			o->statusopt.flags |= GIT_STATUS_OPT_INCLUDE_IGNORED;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "-uno") ||
+				 !strcmp(a, "--untracked-files=no"))
+			o->statusopt.flags &= ~GIT_STATUS_OPT_INCLUDE_UNTRACKED;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "-unormal") ||
+				 !strcmp(a, "--untracked-files=normal"))
+			o->statusopt.flags |= GIT_STATUS_OPT_INCLUDE_UNTRACKED;
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "-uall") ||
+				 !strcmp(a, "--untracked-files=all"))
+			o->statusopt.flags |= GIT_STATUS_OPT_INCLUDE_UNTRACKED |
 				GIT_STATUS_OPT_RECURSE_UNTRACKED_DIRS;
-		else if (!strcmp(argv[i], "--ignore-submodules=all"))
-			opt.flags |= GIT_STATUS_OPT_EXCLUDE_SUBMODULES;
-		else if (!strncmp(argv[i], "--git-dir=", strlen("--git-dir=")))
-			repodir = argv[i] + strlen("--git-dir=");
+		else if (!strcmp(a, "--ignore-submodules=all"))
+			o->statusopt.flags |= GIT_STATUS_OPT_EXCLUDE_SUBMODULES;
+		else if (!strncmp(a, "--git-dir=", strlen("--git-dir=")))
+			o->repodir = a + strlen("--git-dir=");
 		else
-			check(-1, "Unsupported option", argv[i]);
+			check_lg2(-1, "Unsupported option", a);
 	}
 
-	if (format == FORMAT_DEFAULT)
-		format = FORMAT_LONG;
-	if (format == FORMAT_LONG)
-		showbranch = 1;
-	if (npaths > 0) {
-		opt.pathspec.strings = pathspec;
-		opt.pathspec.count   = npaths;
+	if (o->format == FORMAT_DEFAULT)
+		o->format = FORMAT_LONG;
+	if (o->format == FORMAT_LONG)
+		o->showbranch = 1;
+	if (o->npaths > 0) {
+		o->statusopt.pathspec.strings = o->pathspec;
+		o->statusopt.pathspec.count   = o->npaths;
 	}
-
-	/*
-	 * Try to open the repository at the given path (or at the current
-	 * directory if none was given).
-	 */
-	check(git_repository_open_ext(&repo, repodir, 0, NULL),
-		  "Could not open repository", repodir);
-
-	if (git_repository_is_bare(repo))
-		fail("Cannot report status on bare repository");
-
-	/*
-	 * Run status on the repository
-	 *
-	 * Because we want to simluate a full "git status" run and want to
-	 * support some command line options, we use `git_status_foreach_ext()`
-	 * instead of just the plain status call.  This allows (a) iterating
-	 * over the index and then the workdir and (b) extra flags that control
-	 * which files are included.  If you just want simple status (e.g. to
-	 * enumerate files that are modified) then you probably don't need the
-	 * extended API.
-	 */
-	check(git_status_list_new(&status, repo, &opt),
-		  "Could not get status", NULL);
-
-	if (showbranch)
-		show_branch(repo, format);
-
-	if (format == FORMAT_LONG)
-		print_long(repo, status);
-	else
-		print_short(repo, status);
-
-	git_status_list_free(status);
-	git_repository_free(repo);
-
-	return 0;
 }
-