[feature request] deno task default args

[andykais]

Hi all, I often find myself writing task scripts like so:

{
  "tasks": {
    "test:watch": "deno test --watch --fail-fast --unstable-ffi --allow-read --allow-write --allow-run=ffprobe,ffmpeg --allow-ffi --allow-net=github.com,objects.githubusercontent.com --import-map=test/import-map.json"
    "test": "deno test --fail-fast --unstable-ffi --allow-read --allow-write --allow-run=ffprobe,ffmpeg --allow-ffi --allow-net=github.com,objects.githubusercontent.com --import-map=test/import-map.json test"
  }
}

where I run these tasks like so: deno task test:watch <mytest> (run a specific test, and watch for changes) or deno task test (run the whole test suite). In both cases though, I sometimes want to run the command with a specific test in mind, and other times the whole test suite. Since there is no mechanism for default args in deno, this would mean creating separate commands for each of these workflows:

{
  "tasks": {
    "test:watch": "deno test --watch --fail-fast --unstable-ffi --allow-read --allow-write --allow-run=ffprobe,ffmpeg --allow-ffi --allow-net=github.com,objects.githubusercontent.com --import-map=test/import-map.json"
    "test:watch:all": "deno test --watch --fail-fast --unstable-ffi --allow-read --allow-write --allow-run=ffprobe,ffmpeg --allow-ffi --allow-net=github.com,objects.githubusercontent.com --import-map=test/import-map.json test/**/*.test.ts"
    "test": "deno test --fail-fast --unstable-ffi --allow-read --allow-write --allow-run=ffprobe,ffmpeg --allow-ffi --allow-net=github.com,objects.githubusercontent.com --import-map=test/import-map.json"
    "test:all": "deno test --fail-fast --unstable-ffi --allow-read --allow-write --allow-run=ffprobe,ffmpeg --allow-ffi --allow-net=github.com,objects.githubusercontent.com --import-map=test/import-map.json test"
  }
}

so that I can use them like so:

deno task test:all # run the whole test suite
deno task test tests/mod.test.ts # run a specific test
deno task test:watch tests/mod.test.ts # run a specific test and watch for changes
deno task test:watch:all # run the whole test suite and watch for changes

This means a ton of boilerplate for what is essentially two different commands. What I would like to propose is a way to define default args for a task when args are not specified:

{
  "tasks": {
    "test:watch": {
      "default_args": ["test/**/*.test.ts"],
      "command": "deno test --watch --fail-fast --unstable-ffi --allow-read --allow-write --allow-run=ffprobe,ffmpeg --allow-ffi --allow-net=github.com,objects.githubusercontent.com --import-map=test/import-map.json"
    },
    {
      "default_args": ["test"],
      "command": "test": "deno test --fail-fast --unstable-ffi --allow-read --allow-write --allow-run=ffprobe,ffmpeg --allow-ffi --allow-net=github.com,objects.githubusercontent.com --import-map=test/import-map.json"
    }
  }
}

which can be used like so:

deno task test # run the whole test suite
deno task test tests/mod.test.ts # run a specific test
deno task test:watch tests/mod.test.ts # run a specific test and watch for changes
deno task test:watch # run the whole test suite and watch for changes

[dsherret]

Transfered to deno because it's not specific to the shell.

Can't this be rewritten like so or what am I missing?

{
  "tasks": {
    "test:watch": "deno task test --watch"
    "test:watch:all": "deno task test:watch test/**/*.test.ts"
    "test": "deno test --fail-fast --unstable-ffi --allow-read --allow-write --allow-run=ffprobe,ffmpeg --allow-ffi --allow-net=github.com,objects.githubusercontent.com --import-map=test/import-map.json"
    "test:all": "deno task test test"
  }
}