I think basic command-line argumentation tokenization is handled by the C runtime (you pass an entire command-line to CreateProcess, WinMain gets an untokenized command-line, wildcards aren't ...

Some programs provide the ability to add arguments when executing it in order to change a particular behavior or modify how the program operates. As an example lets look at the command line ...

The former ultimately runs the command “figlet” with arguments “foobar” and “bar baz” on the local machine. The second does the same, except with ssh being involved in the middle.

The arguments and options you use on the command line can make command output easier to use.