diff --git a/inc/md2html.cfg b/inc/md2html.cfg
index 5866aca21..215628be0 100644
--- a/inc/md2html.cfg
+++ b/inc/md2html.cfg
@@ -52,13 +52,10 @@
 #
 #	-d topdir	set topdir (def: if 'git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree' is true, then
 #					 topdir is output of 'git rev-parse --show-toplevel')
-#	-D def		'def' is default HTML phase name (def: 'default' is default phase name)
+#			NOTE: -d may only be used in command_options (getopt phase 0)
 #
-#	-i inc		inc files are located under topdir/inc (def: inc files are under topdir/inc)
-#
-#	-c md2html.cfg	Use md2html.cfg as the configuration file (def: use inc/md2html.cfg)
-#	-C dir		cd dir (def: if 'git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree' is true, then
-#				     cd to the output of 'git rev-parse --show-cdup')
+#	-c md2html.cfg	Use md2html.cfg as the configuration file (def: use topdir/inc/md2html.cfg)
+#			NOTE: -c may only be used in command_options (getopt phase 0)
 #
 #	-H phase=name	use 'phase.name.html' file for HTML phase named 'phase' (def: use 'phase.default.html')
 #	-H phase=.	ignore processing for HTML phase 'phase' (def: process HTML phase)
@@ -69,9 +66,8 @@
 #	-b .		skip HTML phase number 20 (def: do nothing during HTML phase number 20)
 #	-B optstr	run 'before tool' with options found in 'optstr' (def: do not add any options to 'before tool')
 #
-#	-p tool		path to 'pandoc tool' wrapper used in HTML phase number 21 is 'tool' (def: use inc/pandoc.sh)
+#	-p tool		run 'pandoc tool' wrapper (not path to pandoc) during HTML phase number 21 (def: use inc/pandoc.sh)
 #	-p .		skip HTML phase number 21 (def: do nothing during HTML phase number 21)
-#			NOTE: The 'tool' is a 'pandoc tool' wrapper tool, NOT the path to the actual pandoc application.
 #	-P optstr	run 'pandoc tool' with options found in 'optstr' (def: use only the 'pandoc tool' default options)
 #
 #	-a tool		run 'after tool' during HTML phase number 20 (def: do not output after pandoc tool)
@@ -85,11 +81,13 @@
 #
 #	-o tool		Use output tool, 'tool', to generate option lines (def: do not)
 #	-o .		disable use of 'output tool' (def: do not use an 'output tool')
+#			NOTE: -o may only be used in command_options and cfg_options (getopt phases 0 and 1)
 #	-O tool=optstr	run the 'token replace' named 'tool' with options found in 'optstr' (def: do not add any options)
 #			NOTE: The 'tool' string may not contain = (equal), nor double-quote, nor single-quote.
+#			NOTE: -O may only be used in command_options and cfg_options (getopt phases 0 and 1)
 #
-#	-e exitcode	force exit with exitcode (def: exit based on success or failure of the action)
-#	-E string	output string, followed by newline, to stderr (def: do not)
+#	-e string	output string, followed by newline, to stderr (def: do not)
+#	-E exitcode	force exit with exitcode (def: exit based on success or failure of the action)
 #
 # The output from 'before tool' (unless -b .) will be used in HTML phase number 20 (before pandoc processing).
 # The output from 'pandoc tool' (unless -p .) will be used HTML phase number 21 (pandoc processing).
@@ -120,14 +118,14 @@
 #
 # The command options are evaluated in the following getopt phases:
 #
-# 0. collect command line options, up to but not including any '--' or up to the command line filename argument(s)
-# 0a. ((evaluate all getopt phase 0 options))
+# getopt phase 0. collect command line options, up to but not including any '--' or up to the command line filename argument(s)
+# getopt phase 0a. ((evaluate all getopt phase 0 options))
 #
-# 1. collect 'cfg_options' from the first md2html.cfg line where 'file_glob' matched the filename argument
-# 1a. ((evaluate all getopt phase 1 options))
+# getopt phase 1. collect 'cfg_options' from the first md2html.cfg line where 'file_glob' matched the filename argument
+# getopt phase 1a. ((evaluate all getopt phase 1 options, except '-d topdir', '-c md2html.cfg' are ignored))
 #
-# 2. collect output of '-o tool' from getopt phase 0a and then from getopt phase 1a, in the order collected
-# 2a. ((evaluate all getopt phase 2 options, except that any new '-o tool' are ignored))
+# getopt phase 2. collect output of '-o tool' from getopt phase 0a and then from getopt phase 1a, in the order collected
+# getopt phase 2a. ((evaluate all getopt phase 2 options, except '-d topdir', '-c md2html.cfg', '-o tool' are ignored))
 #
 # Command line options are evaluated in order, during each getopt phase (i.e., getopt phase 0a, then 1a, phase 2a).
 #
@@ -140,8 +138,8 @@
 # Also in the case of '-s token=value', later '-s token=value' only overrides an earlier use of '-s'
 # for the same 'token' only.
 #
-# When '-e exitcode' is evaluated, the application will exit with the 'exitcode' value.  If one wishes to also
-# output a message to stderr, the '-E string' must come BEFORE any '-e exitcode' in the command line.
+# When '-E exitcode' is evaluated, the application will exit with the 'exitcode' value.  If one wishes to also
+# output a message to stderr, the '-e string' must come BEFORE any '-E exitcode' in the command line.
 #
 # All tokens (i.e., strings of the form '%%token%%') MUST be substituted (by some -s token=value)
 # in all HTML output, except during phase numbers 20-29 (i.e., except 'before tool' output, pandoc output,
@@ -262,7 +260,7 @@
 
 # Exit 9 for any markdown file that we have not previously configured
 
-*.md					-E "markdown file does not match any md2html.cfg line" -e 200
+*.md					-e "markdown file does not match any md2html.cfg line" -E 200
 
 # Last, everything else is silently ignored
 
diff --git a/tmp/README.md b/tmp/README.md
index 1a6036861..043223f12 100644
--- a/tmp/README.md
+++ b/tmp/README.md
@@ -580,6 +580,25 @@ entries where the "created_by" (5th) field is non-null.  See
 This file is formed by the [fix_csv.sh](fix_csv.sh) tool.
 
 
+### [sample_getopt.sh](sample_getopt.sh)
+
+This is a demo of the 3 phase parse of command line options and
+arguments for that a markdown to HTML tool that uses the `inc/md2html.cfg`
+configuration file.
+
+Try:
+
+```sh
+./sample_getopt.sh -v 3 foo
+```
+
+This tool performs a somewhat complicated 3 phase getopt parse of
+simulated command line options and arguments that a tool converting
+markdown to HTML and using the `inc/md2html.cfg` configuration file
+would perform.  The tool does not actually use the  `inc/md2html.cfg`,
+it just simulates the complex 3 phase getopt parsing procedure.
+
+
 ### [sql/winners.sql](sql/winners.sql)
 
 This is a SQL file, extracted from another SQL file that was used in the past
@@ -613,6 +632,7 @@ Examples:
 
 An HTML template for what goes into the top of constructed HTML pages.
 
+
 Constructed HTML pages will be as follows:
 
 0. [template-top.html](template-top.html)
diff --git a/tmp/sample_getopt.sh b/tmp/sample_getopt.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..bc94d782d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tmp/sample_getopt.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,647 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# sample_getopt.sh - sample command line option parsing
+#
+# Copyright (c) 2023 by Landon Curt Noll.  All Rights Reserved.
+#
+# Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and
+# its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted,
+# provided that the above copyright, this permission notice and text
+# this comment, and the disclaimer below appear in all of the following:
+#
+#       supporting documentation
+#       source copies
+#       source works derived from this source
+#       binaries derived from this source or from derived source
+#
+# LANDON CURT NOLL DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE,
+# INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO
+# EVENT SHALL LANDON CURT NOLL BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR
+# CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF
+# USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR
+# OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR
+# PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
+#
+# chongo (Landon Curt Noll, http://www.isthe.com/chongo/index.html) /\oo/\
+#
+# Share and enjoy! :-)
+
+# firewall - bash must be version 4,2 or later
+#
+# We must declare arrays with -ag or -Ag
+#
+if [[ ${BASH_VERSINFO[0]} -lt 4 || ${BASH_VERSINFO[0]} -eq 4 && ${BASH_VERSINFO[1]} -lt 2 ]]; then
+    echo "$0: ERROR: bash version must be >= 4.2: $BASH_VERSION" 1>&2
+    exit 4
+fi
+
+# set usage message
+#
+export USAGE="usage: $0 [-h] [-v level] [-V] [-n] [-N]
+	[-d topdir] [-c md2html.cfg] [-H phase=name ..]
+	[-b tool] [-B optstr] [-p tool] [-P optstr] [-a tool] [-A optstr]
+	[-s token=value ..] [-S] [-o tool ..] [-O tool=optstr ..]
+	[-e string ..] [-E exitcode] filename_arg
+
+	-h		print help message and exit
+	-v level	set verbosity level (def level: 0)
+	-V		print version string and exit
+
+	-n		go thru the actions, but do not update any files (def: do the action)
+	-N		do not process file, just ignore the file (def: process the file)
+
+	-d topdir	set topdir (def: if 'git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree' is true, then
+					 topdir is output of 'git rev-parse --show-toplevel')
+			NOTE: -d may only be used in command_options (getopt phase 0)
+
+	-c md2html.cfg	Use md2html.cfg as the configuration file (def: use topdir/inc/md2html.cfg)
+			NOTE: -c may only be used in command_options (getopt phase 0)
+
+	-H phase=name	use 'phase.name.html' file for HTML phase named 'phase' (def: use 'phase.default.html')
+	-H phase=.	ignore processing for HTML phase 'phase' (def: process HTML phase)
+			NOTE: The 'phase' string may not contain = (equal), nor / (slash).
+			NOTE: The 'phase.name.html' file is assumed under the 'topdir/inc' directory.
+
+	-b tool		run 'before tool' during HTML phase number 20 (def: do not output before pandoc tool)
+	-b .		skip HTML phase number 20 (def: do nothing during HTML phase number 20)
+	-B optstr	run 'before tool' with options found in 'optstr' (def: do not add any options to 'before tool')
+
+	-p tool		run 'pandoc tool' wrapper (not path to pandoc) during HTML phase number 21 (def: use inc/pandoc.sh)
+	-p .		skip HTML phase number 21 (def: do nothing during HTML phase number 21)
+	-P optstr	run 'pandoc tool' with options found in 'optstr' (def: use only the 'pandoc tool' default options)
+
+	-a tool		run 'after tool' during HTML phase number 20 (def: do not output after pandoc tool)
+	-a .		skip HTML phase number 22 (def: do nothing during HTML phase number 22)
+	-A optstr	run 'after tool' with options found in 'optstr' (def: do not add any options to 'after tool')
+
+	-s token=value	substitute %%token%% with value except in HTML phase numbers 20-29 (def: do not substitute)
+			NOTE: The 'token' string may not contain ; (semicolon), nor = (equal), nor % (percent).
+			NOTE: The 'value' string may not contain ; (semicolon).
+	-S		failure to replace a %%token%% is not an error (def: exit non-zero for non-substituted tokens)
+
+	-o tool		Use output tool, 'tool', to generate option lines (def: do not)
+	-o .		disable use of 'output tool' (def: do not use an 'output tool')
+			NOTE: -o may only be used in command_options and cfg_options (getopt phases 0 and 1)
+	-O tool=optstr	run the 'token replace' named 'tool' with options found in 'optstr' (def: do not add any options)
+			NOTE: The 'tool' string may not contain = (equal), nor double-quote, nor single-quote.
+			NOTE: -O may only be used in command_options and cfg_options (getopt phases 0 and 1)
+
+	-e string	output string, followed by newline, to stderr (def: do not)
+	-E exitcode	force exit with exitcode (def: exit based on success or failure of the action)
+
+	filename_arg
+
+Exit codes:
+     0	       all OK
+     2	       -h and help string printed or -V and version string printed
+     3	       command line error
+     4	       bash version is < 4.2
+ >= 10 < 200   internal error
+ >= 200	       tool error
+
+$NAME version: $VERSION"
+
+##################################
+# command line parsing functions #
+##################################
+
+# setup global variables
+#
+# Call this once at the start of the shell script.
+#
+function global_variable_setup
+{
+    local n	# loop index
+
+    # setup
+    #
+    export VERSION="0.1 2023-12-10"
+    NAME=$(basename "$0")
+    export NAME
+    #
+    export V_FLAG=0
+    export NOOP=0
+    export DO_NOT_PROCESS=0
+    export TOPDIR
+    export REPO_URL="https://github.com/ioccc-src/temp-test-ioccc"
+    export REPO_NAME="temp-test-ioccc"
+    export MD2HTML_CFG
+    export BEFORE_TOOL
+    export BEFORE_TOOL_OPTSTR
+    export PANDOC_WRAPPER
+    export PANDOC_WRAPPER_OPTSTR
+    export AFTER_TOOL
+    export AFTER_TOOL_OPTSTR
+    unset TOKEN
+    declare -Ag TOKEN
+    export CAP_S_FLAG
+    unset OUTPUT_TOOL
+    declare -ag OUTPUT_TOOL
+    unset OUTPUT_TOOL_OPTSTR
+    declare -Ag OUTPUT_TOOL_OPTSTR
+
+    # determine path to topdir if we are in a git repo
+    #
+    GIT_TOOL=$(type -P git)
+    export GIT_TOOL
+    if [[ -z "$GIT_TOOL" ]]; then
+	echo "$0: FATAL: git tool is not installed or not in PATH" 1>&2
+	exit 11
+    fi
+    "$GIT_TOOL" rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree >/dev/null 2>&1
+    status="$?"
+    if [[ $status -eq 0 ]]; then
+	TOPDIR=$("$GIT_TOOL" rev-parse --show-toplevel)
+    fi
+
+    # setup phase names in phase array
+    #
+    unset PHASE_NAME
+    declare -ag PHASE_NAME
+    PHASE_NAME=(top head body header topnav begin-row begin-leftcolumn sidenav end-leftcolumn
+		end-leftcolumn begin-rightcolumn before-content before-content after-content
+		end-row footer bottom)
+    unset HTML_PHASE_NAME
+    declare -Ag HTML_PHASE_NAME
+    for n in "${PHASE_NAME[@]}"; do
+	HTML_PHASE_NAME[$n]="default"
+    done
+
+    # initialize command line parse pass number
+    #
+    export GETOPT_PHASE=0
+}
+
+# print the usage message, exit code and version information
+#
+# Call this to print the usage message, by default to stdout.
+# However one might usually want to do:
+#
+#	print_usage 1>&2
+#
+function print_usage
+{
+    # print usage message
+    #
+    echo "$USAGE"
+}
+
+# parse command line arguments
+#
+# You MUST call this function at least once AND after calling global_variable_setup.
+# You may call this function again, after setting a new command line args. For example:
+#
+#	global_variable_setup	# must be first
+#	parse_command_line	# parse the command line given to the shell script
+#
+#	# collect and parse command line arguments
+#	ARG="$1"		# for example, grab only the first command line argument
+#
+#	# do whatever you need to do in terms of validating the resulting effect on
+#	# global variables and validating command like options
+#
+#	# perform the actions as needed
+#
+#	# set new command like options and parse them
+#	set -- -s token0=value0 -o inc/foo.sh -O inc/foo.sh="-v 3" -s token1=vaulue1
+#	parse_command_line
+#
+#	# do whatever you need to do in terms of validating the resulting effect on
+#	# global variables and validating command like options
+#
+#	# perform the actions as needed
+#
+#	# set new command like options and parse them
+#	set -- -s token2=value2 -o inc/bar.sh -O inc/bar.sh="-v 1" -s token4=vaulue4
+#	parse_command_line
+#
+#	# do whatever you need to do in terms of validating the resulting effect on
+#	# global variables and validating command like options
+#
+#	# perform the actions as needed
+#
+function parse_command_line
+{
+    local flag		# getopts found flag
+    local NAME_VALUE	# name=value string
+    local NAME		# name from name=value
+    local VALUE		# value from name=value
+
+    # setup that will effectively clear any previous getopts state
+    #
+    unset OPTIND
+
+    # parse command line
+    #
+    while getopts :hv:VnNd:c:H:b:B:p:P:a:A:s:So:O:e:E: flag; do
+      case "$flag" in
+	h) print_usage 1>&2
+	    exit 2
+	    ;;
+	v) V_FLAG="$OPTARG"
+	    ;;
+	V) echo "$VERSION"
+	    exit 2
+	    ;;
+	n) NOOP="true"
+	    ;;
+	N) DO_NOT_PROCESS="true"
+	    ;;
+	d) # -d only in getopt phase 0
+	    if [[ $GETOPT_PHASE -gt 0 ]]; then
+		echo "$0: ERROR: -d may only be used during getopt phase 0, current getopt phase: $GETOPT_PHASE" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+	    fi
+	    #
+	    TOPDIR="$OPTARG"
+	    ;;
+	c) # -c only in getopt phase 0
+	    if [[ $GETOPT_PHASE -gt 0 ]]; then
+		echo "$0: ERROR: -c may only be used during getopt phase 0, current getopt phase: $GETOPT_PHASE" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+	    fi
+	    #
+	    MD2HTML_CFG="$OPTARG"
+	    ;;
+	H) # parse: -H phase=name
+	    NAME_VALUE="$OPTARG"
+	    case "$NAME_VALUE" in
+	    *=*) # parse name=value
+		NAME=${NAME_VALUE%%=*}
+		VALUE=${NAME_VALUE#*=}
+		;;
+	    *) echo "$0: ERROR: -H option not in phase=name form" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+		;;
+	    esac
+	    # name cannot contain a =
+	    if [[ $NAME == *'='* ]]; then
+		echo "$0: ERROR: -H name=value, name cannot contain a = character: $NAME_VALUE" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+	    fi
+	    # name cannot contain a /
+	    if [[ $NAME == *'/'* ]]; then
+		echo "$0: ERROR: -H name=value, name cannot contain a / character: $NAME_VALUE" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+	    fi
+	    # name must be a known phase name
+	    if [[ -z ${HTML_PHASE_NAME[$NAME]} ]]; then
+		echo "$0: ERROR: -H name=value, name is unknown" 1>&2
+		for n in "${PHASE_NAME[@]}"; do
+		    echo "$0: notice: valid name: $n"
+		done 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+	    fi
+	    # treat VALUE of . as an HTML PHASE name unset
+	    #
+	    if [[ $VALUE == . ]]; then
+		# unset phase name
+		HTML_PHASE_NAME[$NAME]=
+	    else
+		# change phase name
+		HTML_PHASE_NAME[$NAME]="$VALUE"
+	    fi
+	    ;;
+	b) # parse: -p tool
+	    if [[ $OPTARG == . ]]; then
+		# unset before tool
+		BEFORE_TOOL=
+	    else
+		# change before tool
+		BEFORE_TOOL="$OPTARG"
+	    fi
+	    ;;
+	B) BEFORE_TOOL_OPTSTR="$OPTARG"
+	    ;;
+	p) # parse -p tool
+	    if [[ $OPTARG == . ]]; then
+		# unset pandoc wrapper tool
+		PANDOC_WRAPPER=
+	    else
+		# change pandoc wrapper tool
+		PANDOC_WRAPPER="$OPTARG"
+	    fi
+	    ;;
+	P) BEFORE_TOOL_OPTSTR="$OPTARG"
+	    ;;
+	a) # parse: -a tool
+	    if [[ $OPTARG == . ]]; then
+		# unset after tool
+		AFTER_TOOL=
+	    else
+		# change after tool
+		AFTER_TOOL="$OPTARG"
+	    fi
+	    ;;
+	A) AFTER_TOOL_OPTSTR="$OPTARG"
+	    ;;
+	s) # parse: -s token=value
+	    NAME_VALUE="$OPTARG"
+	    case "$NAME_VALUE" in
+	    *=*) # parse name=value
+		NAME=${NAME_VALUE%%=*}
+		VALUE=${NAME_VALUE#*=}
+		;;
+	    *) echo "$0: ERROR: -H option not in phase=name form" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+		;;
+	    esac
+	    # token cannot contain a ;
+	    if [[ $NAME == *';'* ]]; then
+		echo "$0: ERROR: -H name=value, token cannot contain a ; character: $NAME_VALUE" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+	    fi
+	    # token cannot contain a =
+	    if [[ $NAME == *'='* ]]; then
+		echo "$0: ERROR: -H name=value, token cannot contain a = character: $NAME_VALUE" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+	    fi
+	    # token cannot contain a %
+	    if [[ $NAME == *'%'* ]]; then
+		echo "$0: ERROR: -H name=value, token cannot contain a % character: $NAME_VALUE" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+	    fi
+	    # value cannot contain a ;
+	    if [[ $VALUE == *';'* ]]; then
+		echo "$0: ERROR: -H name=value, value cannot contain a ; character: $NAME_VALUE" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+	    fi
+	    # set %%token%% value
+	    TOKEN[$NAME]="$VALUE"
+	    ;;
+	S) CAP_S_FLAG="true"
+	    ;;
+	o) # -o only in getopt phase 0 and 1
+	    if [[ $GETOPT_PHASE -gt 1 ]]; then
+		echo "$0: ERROR: -o may only be used during getopt phase 0 and 1, current getopt phase: $GETOPT_PHASE" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+	    fi
+	    #
+	    OUTPUT_TOOL+=("$OPTARG")
+	    ;;
+	O) # -O only in getopt phase 0 and 1
+	    if [[ $GETOPT_PHASE -gt 1 ]]; then
+		echo "$0: ERROR: -o may only be used during getopt phase 0 and 1, current getopt phase: $GETOPT_PHASE" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+	    fi
+	    #
+	    # parse: -O tool=optstr
+	    NAME_VALUE="$OPTARG"
+	    case "$NAME_VALUE" in
+	    *=*) # parse name=value
+		NAME=${NAME_VALUE%%=*}
+		VALUE=${NAME_VALUE#*=}
+		;;
+	    *) echo "$0: ERROR: -H option not in phase=name form" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+		;;
+	    esac
+	    # token cannot contain a =
+	    if [[ $NAME == *'='* ]]; then
+		echo "$0: ERROR: -H name=value, token cannot contain a = character: $NAME_VALUE" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+	    fi
+	    # token cannot contain a double-quote
+	    if [[ $NAME == *'"'* ]]; then
+		echo "$0: ERROR: -H name=value, token cannot contain a double-quote character: $NAME_VALUE" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+	    fi
+	    # token cannot contain a single-quote
+	    if [[ $NAME == *'"'* ]]; then
+		echo "$0: ERROR: -H name=value, token cannot contain a single-quote character: $NAME_VALUE" 1>&2
+		echo 1>&2
+		print_usage 1>&2
+		exit 3
+	    fi
+	    # set tool optstr value
+	    OUTPUT_TOOL_OPTSTR[$NAME]="$VALUE"
+	    ;;
+	e) echo "$OPTARG" 1>&2
+	    ;;
+	E) exit "$OPTARG"
+	    ;;
+	\?) echo "$0: ERROR: invalid option: -$OPTARG" 1>&2
+	    echo 1>&2
+	    print_usage 1>&2
+	    exit 3
+	    ;;
+	:) echo "$0: ERROR: option -$OPTARG requires an argument" 1>&2
+	    echo 1>&2
+	    print_usage 1>&2
+	    exit 3
+	    ;;
+	*) echo "$0: ERROR: unexpected value from getopts: $flag" 1>&2
+	    echo 1>&2
+	    print_usage 1>&2
+	    exit 3
+	    ;;
+      esac
+    done
+
+    # increment command line parse pass number
+    #
+    ((++GETOPT_PHASE))
+}
+
+# required initial variable setup
+#
+global_variable_setup
+
+##################
+# getopt phase 0 #
+##################
+
+# process command line arguments
+#
+parse_command_line "$@"
+
+# parse the command line arguments
+#
+if [[ $V_FLAG -ge 1 ]]; then
+    echo "$0: debug[1]: debug level: $V_FLAG" 1>&2
+    echo "$0: debug[1]: after 1st call to parse_command_line, OPTIND: $OPTIND" 1>&2
+fi
+#
+shift $(( OPTIND - 1 ));
+#
+if [[ $V_FLAG -ge 1 ]]; then
+    echo "$0: debug[1]: 1st parse_command_line call file argument count: $#" 1>&2
+fi
+if [[ $# -ne 1 ]]; then
+    echo "$0: ERROR: 1st parse_command_line call expected 1 arg, found: $#" 1>&2
+    print_usage 1>&2
+    exit 3
+fi
+#
+export FILE="$1"
+if [[ $V_FLAG -ge 1 ]]; then
+    echo "$0: debug[1]: FILE=$FILE" 1>&2
+fi
+
+# verify that we have a topdir directory
+#
+if [[ -z $TOPDIR ]]; then
+    echo "$0: ERROR: cannot find top of git repo directory" 1>&2
+    echo "$0: Notice: if needed: $GIT_TOOL clone $REPO_URL; cd $REPO_NAME" 1>&2
+    exit 12
+fi
+if [[ ! -d $TOPDIR ]]; then
+    echo "$0: ERROR: TOPDIR is not a directory: $TOPDIR" 1>&2
+    echo "$0: Notice: if needed: $GIT_TOOL clone $REPO_URL; cd $REPO_NAME" 1>&2
+    exit 13
+fi
+
+# verify that we have in inc directory
+#
+export INC="$TOPDIR/inc"
+if [[ ! -d $TOPDIR/inc ]]; then
+    echo "$0: ERROR: inc is not a directory under TOPDIR/inc: $TOPDIR/inc" 1>&2
+    exit 14
+fi
+
+# verify we have a readable md2html.cfg file
+#
+if [[ -z $MD2HTML_CFG ]]; then
+    MD2HTML_CFG="$INC/md2html.cfg"
+fi
+if [[ ! -e $MD2HTML_CFG ]]; then
+    echo "$0: ERROR: md2html.cfg does not exist: $MD2HTML_CFG" 1>&2
+    exit 15
+fi
+if [[ ! -f $MD2HTML_CFG ]]; then
+    echo "$0: ERROR: md2html.cfg is not a file: $MD2HTML_CFG" 1>&2
+    exit 16
+fi
+if [[ ! -r $MD2HTML_CFG ]]; then
+    echo "$0: ERROR: md2html.cfg is not a readable file: $MD2HTML_CFG" 1>&2
+    exit 17
+fi
+
+# cd to topdir
+#
+if [[ ! -e $TOPDIR ]]; then
+    echo "$0: ERROR: cannot cd to non-existent path: $TOPDIR" 1>&2
+    exit 18
+fi
+if [[ ! -d $TOPDIR ]]; then
+    echo "$0: ERROR: cannot cd to a non-directory: $TOPDIR" 1>&2
+    exit 19
+fi
+export CD_FAILED
+cd "$TOPDIR" || CD_FAILED="true"
+if [[ -n $CD_FAILED ]]; then
+    echo "$0: ERROR: cd $TOPDIR failed" 1>&2
+    exit 20
+fi
+
+##################
+# getopt phase 1 #
+##################
+
+# pretend that $FILE matches a line in md2html.cfg and that this is was the rest of the configuration line
+#
+set -- -s token0=value0 -o inc/foo.sh -O inc/foo.sh="-v 3" -s token1=vaulue1
+
+# parse the command line arguments
+#
+parse_command_line "$@"
+
+# parse the command line arguments
+#
+if [[ $V_FLAG -ge 1 ]]; then
+    echo "$0: debug[1]: after 2nd call to parse_command_line, OPTIND: $OPTIND" 1>&2
+fi
+#
+shift $(( OPTIND - 1 ));
+#
+if [[ $V_FLAG -ge 1 ]]; then
+    echo "$0: debug[1]: 2nd parse_command_line call file argument count: $#" 1>&2
+fi
+if [[ $# -ne 0 ]]; then
+    echo "$0: ERROR: 2nd parse_command_line call expected 0 arg, found: $#" 1>&2
+    print_usage 1>&2
+    exit 3
+fi
+
+##################
+# getopt phase 2 #
+##################
+
+# pretend that the tool:
+#
+#	inc/foo.sh -v 3
+#
+# has produced these additional command line options
+#
+set -- -s token2=value2 -s token3=value3
+
+# parse the new options on the command line
+#
+parse_command_line "$@"
+
+# parse the command line arguments
+#
+if [[ $V_FLAG -ge 1 ]]; then
+    echo "$0: debug[1]: after 3rd call to parse_command_line, OPTIND: $OPTIND" 1>&2
+fi
+#
+shift $(( OPTIND - 1 ));
+#
+if [[ $V_FLAG -ge 1 ]]; then
+    echo "$0: debug[1]: 3rd parse_command_line call file argument count: $#" 1>&2
+fi
+if [[ $# -ne 0 ]]; then
+    echo "$0: ERROR: 3rd parse_command_line call expected 0 arg, found: $#" 1>&2
+    print_usage 1>&2
+    exit 3
+fi
+
+# report TOKEN sed patterns
+#
+if [[ $V_FLAG -ge 3 ]]; then
+    for n in "${!TOKEN[@]}"; do
+	VALUE="${TOKEN[$n]}"
+	echo "$0: debug[3]: token replacement: sed -e s;%%$n%%;$VALUE;g" 1>&2
+    done
+fi
+
+# report output tool and output tool arguments
+#
+if [[ $V_FLAG -ge 3 ]]; then
+    for n in "${!OUTPUT_TOOL[@]}"; do
+	VALUE="${OUTPUT_TOOL[$n]}"
+	echo "$0: debug[3]: output tool: $VALUE args: ${OUTPUT_TOOL_OPTSTR[$VALUE]}" 1>&2
+    done
+fi