<SYSTEM_TASK:>
Solve the following problem using Python, implementing the functions described below, one line at a time
<END_TASK>
<USER_TASK:>
Description:
 def parse( args: typing.List[str] = None, arg_parser: ArgumentParser = None ) -> dict: """Parses the arguments for the cauldron server"""


    parser = arg_parser or create_parser()
    return vars(parser.parse_args(args))