/usr/lib/swi-prolog/doc/Manual/cmdline.html

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<H2><A NAME="sec:2.4"><SPAN class="sec-nr">2.4</SPAN> <SPAN class="sec-title">Command-line 
options</SPAN></A></H2>

<A NAME="sec:cmdline"></A>

<P>The full set of command-line options is given below:

<DL class="latex">
<DT><STRONG>--arch</STRONG> <VAR></VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
When given as the only option, it prints the architecture identifier 
(see Prolog flag <A class="flag" href="flags.html#flag:arch">arch</A>) 
and exits. See also
<STRONG>-dump-runtime-variables</STRONG>. Also available as
<STRONG>-arch</STRONG>.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>--dump-runtime-variables</STRONG> <VAR></VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
When given as the only option, it prints a sequence of variable settings 
that can be used in shell-scripts to deal with Prolog parameters. This 
feature is also used by <B>swipl-ld</B> (see <A class="sec" href="plld.html">section 
9.5</A>). Below is a typical example of using this feature. Also 
available as
<STRONG>-dump-runtime-variables</STRONG>.

<PRE class="code">
eval `swipl --dump-runtime-variables`
cc -I$PLBASE/include -L$PLBASE/lib/$PLARCH ...
</PRE>

<P>The option can be followed by <CODE>=sh</CODE> to dump in POSIX shell 
format (default) or <CODE>cmd</CODE> to dump in MS-Windows <B>cmd.exe</B> 
compatible format.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>--help</STRONG> <VAR></VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
When given as the only option, it summarises the most important options. 
Also available as <STRONG>-h</STRONG> and <STRONG>-help</STRONG>.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>--home=DIR</STRONG> <VAR></VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Use DIR as home directory. See <A class="sec" href="findhome.html">section 
9.6</A> for details.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>--quiet</STRONG> <VAR></VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
<A NAME="idx:verbose:63"></A><A NAME="idx:quiet:64"></A>Set the Prolog 
flag <A class="flag" href="flags.html#flag:verbose">verbose</A> to <CODE>silent</CODE>, 
suppressing informational and banner messages. Also available as <STRONG>-q</STRONG>.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>--nodebug</STRONG> <VAR></VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Disable debugging. See the <A NAME="idx:currentprologflag2:65"></A><A class="pred" href="flags.html#current_prolog_flag/2">current_prolog_flag/2</A> 
flag
<A class="flag" href="flags.html#flag:generate_debug_info">generate_debug_info</A> 
for details.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>--nosignals</STRONG> <VAR></VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Inhibit any signal handling by Prolog, a property that is sometimes 
desirable for embedded applications. This option sets the flag
<A class="flag" href="flags.html#flag:signals">signals</A> to <CODE>false</CODE>. 
See <A class="sec" href="foreigninclude.html">section 9.4.21.1</A> for 
details.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>-tty</STRONG> <VAR></VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Unix only. Switches controlling the terminal for allowing 
single-character commands to the tracer and <A NAME="idx:getsinglechar1:66"></A><A class="pred" href="chario.html#get_single_char/1">get_single_char/1</A>. 
By default manipulating the terminal is enabled unless the system 
detects it is not connected to a terminal or it is running as a 
GNU-Emacs inferior process. This flag is sometimes required for smooth 
interaction with other applications.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>--version</STRONG> <VAR></VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
When given as the only option, it summarises the version and the 
architecture identifier. Also available as <STRONG>-v</STRONG>.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>--win_app</STRONG> <VAR></VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
This option is available only in <B>swipl-win.exe</B> and is used for 
the start-menu item. If causes <B>plwin</B> to start in the folder
<CODE>...\My Documents\Prolog</CODE> or local equivalent thereof (see
<A NAME="idx:winfolder2:67"></A><A class="pred" href="system.html#win_folder/2">win_folder/2</A>). 
The <CODE>Prolog</CODE> subdirectory is created if it does not exist.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>--</STRONG> <VAR></VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
<A NAME="idx:commandlinearguments:68"></A>Stops scanning for more 
arguments, so you can pass arguments for your application after this 
one. See <A NAME="idx:currentprologflag2:69"></A><A class="pred" href="flags.html#current_prolog_flag/2">current_prolog_flag/2</A> 
using the flag <A class="flag" href="flags.html#flag:argv">argv</A> for 
obtaining the command-line arguments.
</DD>
</DL>

<H3><A NAME="sec:2.4.1"><SPAN class="sec-nr">2.4.1</SPAN> <SPAN class="sec-title">Controlling 
the stack-sizes</SPAN></A></H3>

<A NAME="sec:stacksizes"></A>

<P>As of SWI-Prolog 5.9.8, the default limit for the stack-sizes is 
128Mb on 32-bit and 256Mb on 64-bit hardware. The 128Mb limit on 32-bit 
system is the highest possible value and this option can thus only be 
used to lower the limit. On 64-bit systems, the limit can both be 
reduced and enlarged. See <A class="sec" href="limits.html">section 2.18</A>. 
Here are two examples, the first reducing the local stack limit to catch 
unbounded recursion really quickly and the second using a really big 
(32Gb) global limit on a 64-bit machine:

<PRE class="code">
$ swipl -L8m
$ swipl -G32g
</PRE>

<DL class="latex">
<DT><STRONG>-G</STRONG><VAR>size[kmg]</VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Limit for the global stack (sometimes also called <EM>term-stack</EM> or
<EM>heap</EM>). This is where compound terms and large numbers live.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>-L</STRONG><VAR>size[kmg]</VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Limit for the local stack ((sometimes also called
<EM>environment-stack</EM>). This is where environments and 
choice-points live.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>-T</STRONG><VAR>size[kmg]</VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Limit for the trail stack. This is where we keep track of assignments, 
so we can rollback on backtracking or exceptions.
</DD>
</DL>

<H3><A NAME="sec:2.4.2"><SPAN class="sec-nr">2.4.2</SPAN> <SPAN class="sec-title">Running 
goals from the commandline</SPAN></A></H3>

<A NAME="sec:runoptions"></A>

<DL class="latex">
<DT><STRONG>-g</STRONG> <VAR>goal</VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
<VAR>Goal</VAR> is executed just before entering the top level. Default 
is a predicate which prints the welcome message. The welcome message can 
be be suppressed with <STRONG>--quiet</STRONG>, but also with
<STRONG>-g</STRONG> <VAR>true</VAR>. <VAR>goal</VAR> can be a complex 
term. In this case quotes are normally needed to protect it from being 
expanded by the shell. A safe way to run a goal non-interactively is 
here:

<PRE class="code">
% swipl &lt;options&gt; -g go,halt -t 'halt(1)'
</PRE>

</DD>
<DT><STRONG>-t</STRONG> <VAR>goal</VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Use <VAR>goal</VAR> as interactive top-level instead of the default goal
<A NAME="idx:prolog0:70"></A><A class="pred" href="toplevel.html#prolog/0">prolog/0</A>. <VAR>goal</VAR> 
can be a complex term. If the top-level goal succeeds SWI-Prolog exits 
with status 0. If it fails the exit status is 1. If the toplevel raises 
an exception, this is printed as an uncaught error and the toplevel is 
restarted. This flag also determines the goal started by <A NAME="idx:break0:71"></A><A class="pred" href="toplevel.html#break/0">break/0</A> 
and <A NAME="idx:abort0:72"></A><A class="pred" href="toplevel.html#abort/0">abort/0</A>. 
If you want to stop the user from entering interactive mode start the 
application with `<STRONG>-g</STRONG> <VAR>goal</VAR>' and give `halt' 
as top-level.
</DD>
</DL>

<H3><A NAME="sec:2.4.3"><SPAN class="sec-nr">2.4.3</SPAN> <SPAN class="sec-title">Compiler 
options</SPAN></A></H3>

<A NAME="sec:compoptions"></A>

<DL class="latex">
<DT><STRONG>-c</STRONG> <VAR>file ...</VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Compile files into an `intermediate code file'. See <A class="sec" href="compilation.html">section 
2.10</A>.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>-o</STRONG> <VAR>output</VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Used in combination with <STRONG>-c</STRONG> or <STRONG>-b</STRONG> to 
determine output file for compilation.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>-O</STRONG> <VAR></VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Optimised compilation. See <A NAME="idx:currentprologflag2:73"></A><A class="pred" href="flags.html#current_prolog_flag/2">current_prolog_flag/2</A> 
flag
<A class="flag" href="flags.html#flag:optimise">optimise</A> for 
details.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>-s</STRONG> <VAR>file</VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Use <VAR>file</VAR> as a script-file. The script file is loaded after 
the initialisation file specified with the <STRONG>-f</STRONG> <VAR>file</VAR> 
option. Unlike <STRONG>-f</STRONG> <VAR>file</VAR>, using <STRONG>-s</STRONG> 
does not stop Prolog from loading the personal initialisation file.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>-f</STRONG> <VAR>file</VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Use <VAR>file</VAR> as initialisation file instead of the default
<CODE>.plrc</CODE> (Unix) or <CODE>pl.ini</CODE> (Windows). `<STRONG>-f</STRONG> <VAR>none</VAR>' 
stops SWI-Prolog from searching for a startup file. This option can be 
used as an alternative to <STRONG>-s</STRONG> <VAR>file</VAR> that stops 
Prolog from loading the personal initialisation file. See also
<A class="sec" href="initfile.html">section 2.2</A>.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>-F</STRONG> <VAR>script</VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Selects a startup-script from the SWI-Prolog home directory. The 
script-file is named <CODE>&lt;<VAR>script</VAR>&gt;.rc</CODE>. The 
default
<VAR>script</VAR> name is deduced from the executable, taking the 
leading alphanumerical characters (letters, digits and underscore) from 
the program-name. <STRONG>-F</STRONG> <VAR>none</VAR> stops looking for 
a script. Intended for simple management of slightly different versions. 
One could for example write a script <CODE>iso.rc</CODE> and then select 
ISO compatibility mode using <CODE>pl -F iso</CODE> or make a link from <B>iso-pl</B> 
to
<B>pl</B>.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>-x</STRONG> <VAR>bootfile</VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Boot from <VAR>bootfile</VAR> instead of the system's default boot file. 
A bootfile is a file resulting from a Prolog compilation using the
<STRONG>-b</STRONG> or <STRONG>-c</STRONG> option or a program saved 
using
<A NAME="idx:qsaveprogram12:74"></A><A class="pred" href="runtime.html#qsave_program/1">qsave_program/[1,2]</A>.</DD>
<DT><STRONG>-p</STRONG> <VAR>alias=path1[:path2 ... ]</VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Define a path alias for file_search_path. <VAR>alias</VAR> is the name 
of the alias, <VAR>path1 ...</VAR> is a list of values for the alias. On 
Windows the list-separator is <CODE><CODE>;</CODE></CODE>. On other 
systems it is <CODE><CODE>:</CODE></CODE>. A value is either a term of 
the form alias(value) or pathname. The computed aliases are added to <A NAME="idx:filesearchpath2:75"></A><A class="pred" href="consulting.html#file_search_path/2">file_search_path/2</A> 
using <A NAME="idx:asserta1:76"></A><A class="pred" href="db.html#asserta/1">asserta/1</A>, 
so they precede predefined values for the alias. See <A NAME="idx:filesearchpath2:77"></A><A class="pred" href="consulting.html#file_search_path/2">file_search_path/2</A> 
for details on using this file-location mechanism.
</DD>
</DL>

<H3><A NAME="sec:2.4.4"><SPAN class="sec-nr">2.4.4</SPAN> <SPAN class="sec-title">Maintenance 
options</SPAN></A></H3>

<A NAME="sec:maintoptions"></A>

<P>The following options are for system maintenance. They are given for 
reference only.

<DL class="latex">
<DT><STRONG>-b</STRONG> <VAR>initfile ...<STRONG>-c</STRONG> file ...</VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Boot compilation. <VAR>initfile ...</VAR> are compiled by the C-written 
bootstrap compiler, <VAR>file ...</VAR> by the normal Prolog compiler. 
System maintenance only.
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>-d</STRONG> <VAR>level</VAR></DT>
<DD class="defbody">
Set debug level to <VAR>level</VAR>. Only has effect if the system is 
compiled with the <CODE>-DO_DEBUG</CODE> flag. System maintenance only.
</DD>
</DL>

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