Getopts for process pipelines

 # list recently modified files 
 lr() {
   pipeopts "adl|n:c:" "$*"
   ls -t ${PIPEOPTS[0]} | head ${PIPEOPTS[1]}
 }

 # now run it
 lr -aln25

pipeopts is a Bash builtin that helps you pass arguments to process pipelines.

Internal Bash functions, useful when writing loadable builtins: https://gist.github.com/sshaw/8017032