the -Ipath and -Lpath also work the way they do to be compatible with eclcc.  They are "pass through" eclcc parameters.  When the "usage" says -Ipath it literally means there are special path symantics and the user should type "-Imy/path/is/here" --manifest on the other hand uses the normal parameter format --manifest=my/manifest/is/here/manifiest.xml".

Some users find the path parameter format confusing.