title: bash gnu parallel argfile syntax
body: <p>I just discovered GNU parallel and I'm having some trouble running a simple parallel task.  I have a simulation running over multiple values and I'd like to split it up to run in parallel using command line args.  From the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/parallel/man.html" rel="nofollow">docs</a> , it seems you can run <code>parallel mycommand :::: myargfile</code> in which <code>myargfile</code> contains the various arguments you would like to feed your command, in parallel.  However, I didn't see any information on how the args should be listed and assumed a <code>myargfile</code> like this would work:</p>
  
  <pre><code>--pmin 0 --pmax 0.1
  --pmin 0.1 --pmax 0.2
  ...
  </code></pre>
  
  <p><code>mycommand --pmin 0 --pmax 0.1</code> executes no problem.  But when I run <code>parallel mycommand :::: myargfile</code> I get <code>error: unknown option pmin 0 --pmax 0.1</code> (caught and decoded courtesy boost program options).  <code>parallel echo :::: myargfile</code> correctly prints out the arguments.  It's as if they are being wrapped in a string which the program can't read and not fed like they are from a standard bash script.</p>
  
  <p>What's going on?  How can I make this work? </p>