/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 -- Apply predicates on a list
      • 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 -- Resource bounded thread management
      • 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 -- Sandboxed Prolog code
      • apply_macros.pl -- Goal expansion rules to avoid meta-calling
      • yall.pl -- Lambda expressions
      • assoc.pl -- Binary associations
      • prolog_format.pl -- Analyse format specifications
      • pure_input.pl -- Pure Input from files and streams
      • solution_sequences.pl -- Modify solution sequences
      • ordsets.pl -- Ordered set manipulation
      • random.pl -- Random numbers
      • base64.pl -- Base64 encoding and decoding
      • aggregate.pl -- Aggregation operators on backtrackable predicates
      • predicate_options.pl -- Access and analyse predicate options
      • 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 cross-referencer data collection
      • prolog_colour.pl -- Prolog syntax colouring support.
      • lazy_lists.pl -- Lazy list handling
      • ugraphs.pl
      • url.pl -- Analysing and constructing URL
      • www_browser.pl -- Open a URL in the users browser
      • prolog_pack.pl -- A package manager for Prolog
      • 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 -- Wrapping predicates
      • dialect.pl
      • date.pl -- Process dates and times
      • 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 -- The dif/2 constraint
      • 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 -- Examine the Prolog stack
      • 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
      • macros.pl -- Macro expansion
      • intercept.pl -- Intercept and signal interface
      • statistics.pl -- Get information about resource usage
      • 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
      • when.pl -- Conditional coroutining
      • ctypes.pl -- Character code classification
      • thread.pl -- High level thread primitives
      • check.pl -- Consistency checking
      • tables.pl -- XSB interface to tables
      • listing.pl -- List programs and pretty print clauses
      • hashtable.pl -- Hash tables
      • prolog_trace.pl -- Print access to predicates
      • make.pl -- Reload modified source files
      • portray_text.pl -- Portray text
      • check_installation.pl -- Check installation issues and features
      • streams.pl -- Manage Prolog streams
      • system.pl
      • prolog_deps.pl
      • exceptions.pl -- Exception classification
      • nb_set.pl -- Non-backtrackable sets
      • qpforeign.pl -- Quintus compatible foreign loader
      • oset.pl
      • shell.pl -- Elementary shell commands
      • optparse.pl -- command line parsing
      • writef.pl
      • prolog_coverage.pl
      • prolog_debug.pl -- User level debugging tools
      • increval.pl -- Incremental dynamic predicate modification
      • prolog_codewalk.pl -- Prolog code walker
      • edit.pl
      • prolog_metainference.pl -- Infer meta-predicate properties
      • fastrw.pl -- Fast reading and writing of terms
      • prolog_autoload.pl
      • prolog_jiti.pl
      • tty.pl
      • explain.pl -- Describe Prolog Terms
      • prolog_history.pl -- Per-directory persistent commandline history
      • qsave.pl
      • prolog_profile.pl -- Execution profiler
      • zip.pl -- Access resource ZIP archives
      • vm.pl -- SWI-Prolog Virtual Machine utilities
      • files.pl
      • help.pl -- Text based manual
 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'])]).