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+============================
+Alternatives to cmd and cmd2
+============================
+
+For programs that do not interact with the user in a continuous loop - 
+programs that simply accept a set of arguments from the command line, return 
+results, and do not keep the user within the program's environment - all
+you need are sys_\ .argv (the command-line arguments) and optparse_
+(for parsing UNIX-style options and flags).
+
+.. _optparse: http://docs.python.org/library/optparse.html#module-optparse
+
+.. _sys: http://docs.python.org/library/sys.html#module-sys
+
+.. _curses: http://docs.python.org/library/curses.html#module-curses
+
+.. _cmd: http://docs.python.org/library/cmd.html#module-cmd
+
+The curses_ module produces applications that interact via a plaintext
+terminal window, but are not limited to simple text input and output;
+they can paint the screen with options that are selected from using the
+cursor keys.  However, programming a curses_-based application is not as
+straightforward as using cmd_.
+
+Several packages in PyPI enable interactive command-line applications
+approximately similar in concept to cmd_ applications.  None of them 
+share cmd2's close ties to cmd, but they may be worth investigating
+nonetheless.
+
+  * CmdLoop_
+  * cly_
+  * CmDO_ (As of Feb. 2010, webpage is missing.)
+  * pycopia-CLI_
+  
+cmdln_, another package in PyPI, is an extension to cmd_ and, though it
+doesn't retain full cmd_ compatibility, shares its basic structure with
+cmd_.
+
+.. _cmdln_ http://pypi.python.org/pypi/cmdln
+
+.. _CmdLoop: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/CmdLoop
+
+.. _cly: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/cly
+
+.. _CmDO: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/CmDO/0.7
+
+.. _pycopia-CLI: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/pycopia-CLI/1.0
+
+I've found several alternatives to cmd in the Cheese Shop - CmdLoop, cly, CMdO, and pycopia. cly looks wonderful, but I haven't been able to get it working under Windows, and that's a show-stopper for many potential sqlpython users. In any case, none of the alternatives are based on cmd - they're written from scratch, which means that a cmd-based app would need complete rewriting to use them. I like sticking close to the Standard Library whenever possible. cmd2 lets you do that.
+