<p>I'm a fan of always providing both methods of argument notation, since different users have different needs.</p> <p>If you have to make a decision, analyzing your future userbase might help you make your decision. If your users are Linux administrators, it is likely that they are happy with the short notation. Other, less technically-savvy, people might be more happy with the long notation of arguments.</p> <p>Also, the usage of the script itself is of importance. Will users be typing arguments often (short notation is advisable) or will the script be called automatically from another script/program (long notation for better readability and maintainability)?</p>