/usr/lib/swipl/library/main.pl
All Application Manual Name SummaryHelp

  • swipl
    • library
      • error.pl
      • debug.pl -- Print debug messages and test assertions
      • apply.pl
      • lists.pl
      • broadcast.pl -- Event service
      • shlib.pl -- Utility library for loading foreign objects (DLLs, shared objects)
      • option.pl -- Option list processing
      • thread_pool.pl
      • gensym.pl -- Generate unique symbols
      • settings.pl -- Setting management
      • arithmetic.pl -- Extensible arithmetic
      • main.pl -- Provide entry point for scripts
        • main/0
        • argv_options/3
        • argv_options/4
        • argv_usage/1
        • cli_parse_debug_options/2
        • cli_debug_opt_type/3
        • cli_debug_opt_help/2
        • cli_debug_opt_meta/2
        • cli_enable_development_system/0
      • readutil.pl -- Read utilities
      • operators.pl -- Manage operators
      • pairs.pl -- Operations on key-value lists
      • prolog_source.pl -- Examine Prolog source-files
      • record.pl -- Access compound arguments by name
      • quasi_quotations.pl -- Define Quasi Quotation syntax
      • sandbox.pl
      • apply_macros.pl -- Goal expansion rules to avoid meta-calling
      • yall.pl
      • assoc.pl -- Binary associations
      • prolog_format.pl -- Analyse format specifications
      • pure_input.pl
      • solution_sequences.pl
      • ordsets.pl -- Ordered set manipulation
      • random.pl
      • base64.pl -- Base64 encoding and decoding
      • aggregate.pl -- Aggregation operators on backtrackable predicates
      • predicate_options.pl
      • csv.pl -- Process CSV (Comma-Separated Values) data
      • pprint.pl -- Pretty Print Prolog terms
      • atom.pl -- Operations on atoms
      • modules.pl -- Module utility predicates
      • occurs.pl -- Finding and counting sub-terms
      • prolog_xref.pl
      • prolog_colour.pl -- Prolog syntax colouring support.
      • lazy_lists.pl
      • ugraphs.pl -- Graph manipulation library
      • url.pl
      • www_browser.pl -- Open a URL in the users browser
      • prolog_pack.pl
      • git.pl -- Run GIT commands
      • utf8.pl -- UTF-8 encoding/decoding on lists of character codes.
      • quintus.pl -- Quintus compatibility
      • prolog_versions.pl -- Demand specific (Prolog) versions
      • prolog_wrap.pl
      • dialect.pl -- Support multiple Prolog dialects
      • date.pl
      • persistency.pl -- Provide persistent dynamic predicates
      • iostream.pl -- Utilities to deal with streams
      • prolog_code.pl -- Utilities for reasoning about code
      • strings.pl -- String utilities
      • dif.pl
      • edinburgh.pl -- Some traditional Edinburgh predicates
      • terms.pl -- Term manipulation
      • ansi_term.pl -- Print decorated text to ANSI consoles
      • threadutil.pl -- Interactive thread utilities
      • prolog_stack.pl
      • prolog_clause.pl
      • prolog_breakpoints.pl -- Manage Prolog break-points
      • wfs.pl -- Well Founded Semantics interface
      • sort.pl
      • dicts.pl -- Dict utilities
      • varnumbers.pl -- Utilities for numbered terms
      • rbtrees.pl -- Red black trees
      • backcomp.pl -- Backward compatibility
      • charsio.pl -- I/O on Lists of Character Codes
      • base32.pl -- Base32 encoding and decoding
      • codesio.pl -- I/O on Lists of Character Codes
      • coinduction.pl -- Co-Logic Programming
      • heaps.pl -- heaps/priority queues
      • statistics.pl -- Get information about resource usage
      • when.pl
      • increval.pl -- Incremental dynamic predicate modification
      • nb_rbtrees.pl
      • ctypes.pl -- Character code classification
      • system.pl
      • shell.pl -- Elementary shell commands
      • tables.pl
      • prolog_metainference.pl
      • tty.pl -- Terminal operations
      • check.pl
      • prolog_codewalk.pl -- Prolog code walker
      • optparse.pl
      • make.pl -- Reload modified source files
      • prolog_trace.pl
      • prolog_debug.pl
      • macros.pl -- Macro expansion
      • exceptions.pl -- Exception classification
      • intercept.pl
      • listing.pl -- List programs and pretty print clauses
      • portray_text.pl
      • writef.pl -- Old-style formatted write
      • vm.pl
      • prolog_profile.pl
      • prolog_coverage.pl -- Coverage analysis tool
      • nb_set.pl -- Non-backtrackable sets
      • prolog_jiti.pl
      • files.pl
      • oset.pl
      • thread.pl -- High level thread primitives
      • zip.pl
      • check_installation.pl -- Check installation issues and features
      • help.pl -- Text based manual
      • prolog_autoload.pl
      • readln.pl
      • hashtable.pl -- Hash tables
      • edit.pl -- Editor interface
      • rwlocks.pl -- Read/write locks
      • prolog_deps.pl -- Compute file dependencies
      • streams.pl -- Manage Prolog streams
      • prolog_history.pl
      • explain.pl -- Describe Prolog Terms
      • qpforeign.pl
      • qsave.pl
      • fastrw.pl
      • pio.pl
 argv_usage(:Level) is det
Use print_message/2 to print a usage message at Level. To print the message as plain text indefault color, use debug. Other meaningful options are informational or warning. The help page consists of four sections, two of which are optional:
  1. The header is created from opt_help(help(header), String). It is optional.
  2. The usage is added by default. The part behind Usage: <command> is by default [options] and can be overruled using opt_help(help(usage), String).
  3. The actual option descriptions. The options are presented in the order they are defined in opt_type/3. Subsequent options for the same destination (option name) are joined with the first.
  4. The footer_ is created from opt_help(help(footer), String). It is optional.

The help provided by help(header), help(usage) and help(footer) are either a simple string or a list of elements as defined by print_message_lines/3. In the latter case, the construct \Callable can be used to call a DCG rule in the module from which the user calls argv_options/3. For example, we can add a bold title using

opt_help(help(header), [ansi(bold, '~w', ['My title'])]).