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<h2 id="sec:exception"><a id="sec:4.10"><span class="sec-nr">4.10</span> <span class="sec-title">ISO 
compliant Exception handling</span></a></h2>

<a id="sec:exception"></a>

<p>SWI-Prolog defines the predicates <a id="idx:catch3:609"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#catch/3">catch/3</a> 
and <a id="idx:throw1:610"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#throw/1">throw/1</a> 
for ISO compliant raising and catching of exceptions. In the current 
implementation (as of 4.0.6), most of the built-in predicates generate 
exceptions, but some obscure predicates merely print a message, start 
the debugger and fail, which was the normal behaviour before the 
introduction of exceptions.

<dl class="latex">
<dt class="pubdef"><span class="pred-tag">[ISO]</span><a id="catch/3"><strong>catch</strong>(<var>:Goal, 
+Catcher, :Recover</var>)</a></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Behaves as <a id="idx:call1:611"></a><a class="pred" href="metacall.html#call/1">call/1</a> 
if no exception is raised when executing <var>Goal</var>. If an 
exception is raised using <a id="idx:throw1:612"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#throw/1">throw/1</a> 
while <var>Goal</var> executes, and the <var>Goal</var> is the innermost 
goal for which <var>Catcher</var> unifies with the argument of <a id="idx:throw1:613"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#throw/1">throw/1</a>, 
all choice points generated by <var>Goal</var> are cut, the system 
backtracks to the start of <a id="idx:catch3:614"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#catch/3">catch/3</a> 
while preserving the thrown exception term, and <var>Recover</var> is 
called as in <a id="idx:call1:615"></a><a class="pred" href="metacall.html#call/1">call/1</a>.

<p>The overhead of calling a goal through <a id="idx:catch3:616"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#catch/3">catch/3</a> 
is comparable to
<a id="idx:call1:617"></a><a class="pred" href="metacall.html#call/1">call/1</a>. 
Recovery from an exception is much slower, especially if the exception 
term is large due to the copying thereof.</dd>
<dt class="pubdef"><span class="pred-tag">[ISO]</span><a id="throw/1"><strong>throw</strong>(<var>+Exception</var>)</a></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Raise an exception. The system looks for the innermost <a id="idx:catch3:618"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#catch/3">catch/3</a> 
ancestor for which <var>Exception</var> unifies with the <var>Catcher</var> 
argument of the <a id="idx:catch3:619"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#catch/3">catch/3</a> 
call. See <a id="idx:catch3:620"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#catch/3">catch/3</a> 
for details.

<p>ISO demands that <a id="idx:throw1:621"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#throw/1">throw/1</a> 
make a copy of <var>Exception</var>, walk up the stack to a <a id="idx:catch3:622"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#catch/3">catch/3</a> 
call, backtrack and try to unify the copy of
<var>Exception</var> with <var>Catcher</var>. SWI-Prolog delays making a 
copy of
<var>Exception</var> and backtracking until it actually finds a matching
<a id="idx:catch3:623"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#catch/3">catch/3</a> 
goal. The advantage is that we can start the debugger at the first 
possible location while preserving the entire exception context if there 
is no matching <a id="idx:catch3:624"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#catch/3">catch/3</a> 
goal. This approach can lead to different behaviour if <var>Goal</var> 
and <var>Catcher</var> of <a id="idx:catch3:625"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#catch/3">catch/3</a> 
call shared variables. We assume this to be highly unlikely and could 
not think of a scenario where this is useful.<sup class="fn">50<span class="fn-text">I'd 
like to acknowledge Bart Demoen for his clarifications on these matters.</span></sup>

<p>If an exception is raised in a call-back from C (see <a class="sec" href="foreign.html">chapter 
9</a>) and not caught in the same call-back, <a class="func" href="foreigninclude.html#PL_next_solution()">PL_next_solution()</a> 
fails and the exception context can be retrieved using <a class="func" href="foreigninclude.html#PL_exception()">PL_exception()</a>.
</dd>
</dl>

<p><h3 id="sec:debugexceptions"><a id="sec:4.10.1"><span class="sec-nr">4.10.1</span> <span class="sec-title">Debugging 
and exceptions</span></a></h3>

<a id="sec:debugexceptions"></a>

<p><a id="idx:exceptionsdebugging:626"></a><a id="idx:debuggingexceptions:627"></a>Before 
the introduction of exceptions in SWI-Prolog a runtime error was handled 
by printing an error message, after which the predicate failed. If the 
Prolog flag <a class="flag" href="flags.html#flag:debug_on_error">debug_on_error</a> 
was in effect (default), the tracer was switched on. The combination of 
the error message and trace information is generally sufficient to 
locate the error.

<p>With exception handling, things are different. A programmer may wish 
to trap an exception using <a id="idx:catch3:628"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#catch/3">catch/3</a> 
to avoid it reaching the user. If the exception is not handled by user 
code, the interactive top level will trap it to prevent termination.

<p>If we do not take special precautions, the context information 
associated with an unexpected exception (i.e., a programming error) is 
lost. Therefore, if an exception is raised which is not caught using
<a id="idx:catch3:629"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#catch/3">catch/3</a> 
and the top level is running, the error will be printed, and the system 
will enter trace mode.

<p>If the system is in a non-interactive call-back from foreign code and 
there is no <a id="idx:catch3:630"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#catch/3">catch/3</a> 
active in the current context, it cannot determine whether or not the 
exception will be caught by the external routine calling Prolog. It will 
then base its behaviour on the Prolog flag
<a class="flag" href="flags.html#flag:debug_on_error">debug_on_error</a>:

<p>
<ul class="latex">
<li><i>current_prolog_flag(debug_on_error, false)</i><br>
The exception does not trap the debugger and is returned to the foreign 
routine calling Prolog, where it can be accessed using <a class="func" href="foreigninclude.html#PL_exception()">PL_exception()</a>. 
This is the default.
<li><i>current_prolog_flag(debug_on_error, true)</i><br>
If the exception is not caught by Prolog in the current context, it will 
trap the tracer to help analyse the context of the error.
</ul>

<p>While looking for the context in which an exception takes place, it 
is advised to switch on debug mode using the predicate <a id="idx:debug0:631"></a><a class="pred" href="debugger.html#debug/0">debug/0</a>. 
The hook
<a id="idx:prologexceptionhook4:632"></a><a class="pred" href="excepthook.html#prolog_exception_hook/4">prolog_exception_hook/4</a> 
can be used to add more debugging facilities to exceptions. An example 
is the library <code>library(http/http_error)</code>, generating a full 
stack trace on errors in the HTTP server library.

<p><h3 id="sec:exceptterm"><a id="sec:4.10.2"><span class="sec-nr">4.10.2</span> <span class="sec-title">The 
exception term</span></a></h3>

<a id="sec:exceptterm"></a>

<p>Built-in predicates generate exceptions using a term
<code>error(Formal, Context)</code>. The first argument is the `formal' 
description of the error, specifying the class and generic defined 
context information. When applicable, the ISO error term definition is 
used. The second part describes some additional context to help the 
programmer while debugging. In its most generic form this is a term of 
the form <code>context(Name/Arity, Message)</code>, where
<var>Name</var>/<var>Arity</var> describes the built-in predicate that 
raised the error, and <var>Message</var> provides an additional 
description of the error. Any part of this structure may be a variable 
if no information was present.

<p><h3 id="sec:printmsg"><a id="sec:4.10.3"><span class="sec-nr">4.10.3</span> <span class="sec-title">Printing 
messages</span></a></h3>

<a id="sec:printmsg"></a>

<p>The predicate <a id="idx:printmessage2:633"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message/2">print_message/2</a> 
is used to print a message term in a human-readable format. The other 
predicates from this section allow the user to refine and extend the 
message system. A common usage of
<a id="idx:printmessage2:634"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message/2">print_message/2</a> 
is to print error messages from exceptions. The code below prints errors 
encountered during the execution of <var>Goal</var>, without further 
propagating the exception and without starting the debugger.

<pre class="code">
        ...,
        catch(Goal, E,
              ( print_message(error, E),
                fail
              )),
        ...
</pre>

<p>Another common use is to define <a id="idx:messagehook3:635"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#message_hook/3">message_hook/3</a> 
for printing messages that are normally <em>silent</em>, suppressing 
messages, redirecting messages or make something happen in addition to 
printing the message.

<dl class="latex">
<dt class="pubdef"><a id="print_message/2"><strong>print_message</strong>(<var>+Kind, 
+Term</var>)</a></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
The predicate <a id="idx:printmessage2:636"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message/2">print_message/2</a> 
is used by the system and libraries to print messages. <var>Kind</var> 
describes the nature of the message, while
<var>Term</var> is a Prolog term that describes the content. Printing 
messages through this indirection instead of using <a id="idx:format3:637"></a><a class="pred" href="format.html#format/3">format/3</a> 
to the stream <code>user_error</code> allows displaying the message 
appropriate to the application (terminal, logfile, graphics), acting on 
messages based on their content instead of a string (see <a id="idx:messagehook3:638"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#message_hook/3">message_hook/3</a>) 
and creating language specific versions of the messages. See also
<a class="sec" href="exception.html">section 4.10.3.1</a>. The following 
message kinds are known:

<dl class="latex">
<dt><strong>banner</strong></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
The system banner message. Banner messages can be suppressed by setting 
the Prolog flag <a class="flag" href="flags.html#flag:verbose">verbose</a> 
to <code>silent</code>.</dd>
<dt><strong>debug</strong>(<var>Topic</var>)</dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Message from library(debug). See <a id="idx:debug3:639"></a><a class="pred" href="debug.html#debug/3">debug/3</a>.</dd>
<dt><strong>error</strong></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
The message indicates an erroneous situation. This kind is used to print 
uncaught exceptions of type <code>error(Formal, Context)</code>. See 
section introduction (<a class="sec" href="exception.html">section 
4.10.3</a>).</dd>
<dt><strong>help</strong></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
User requested help message, for example after entering `h' or `?' to a 
prompt.</dd>
<dt><strong>information</strong></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Information that is requested by the user. An example is <a id="idx:statistics0:640"></a><a class="pred" href="statistics.html#statistics/0">statistics/0</a>.</dd>
<dt><strong>informational</strong></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Typically messages of events are progres that are considered useful to a 
developer. Such messages can be suppressed by setting the Prolog flag <a class="flag" href="flags.html#flag:verbose">verbose</a> 
to <code>silent</code>.</dd>
<dt><strong>silent</strong></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Message that is normally not printed. Applications may define
<a id="idx:messagehook3:641"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#message_hook/3">message_hook/3</a> 
to act upon such messages.</dd>
<dt><strong>trace</strong></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Messages from the (command line) tracer.</dd>
<dt><strong>warning</strong></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
The message indicates something dubious that is not considered fatal. 
For example, discontiguous predicates (see <a id="idx:discontiguous1:642"></a><a class="pred" href="dynamic.html#discontiguous/1">discontiguous/1</a>).
</dd>
</dl>

<p>The predicate <a id="idx:printmessage2:643"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message/2">print_message/2</a> 
first translates the <var>Term</var> into a list of `message lines' (see <a id="idx:printmessagelines3:644"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message_lines/3">print_message_lines/3</a> 
for details). Next, it calls the hook <a id="idx:messagehook3:645"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#message_hook/3">message_hook/3</a> 
to allow the user to intercept the message. If <a id="idx:messagehook3:646"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#message_hook/3">message_hook/3</a> 
fails it prints the message unless <var>Kind</var> is silent.

<p>The <a id="idx:printmessage2:647"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message/2">print_message/2</a> 
predicate and its rules are in the file
<code>&lt;<var>plhome</var>&gt;/boot/messages.pl</code>, which may be 
inspected for more information on the error messages and related error 
terms. If you need to write messages from your own predicates, it is 
recommended to reuse the existing message terms if applicable. If no 
existing message term is applicable, invent a fairly unique term that 
represents the event and define a rule for the multifile predicate 
prolog:message//1. See
<a class="sec" href="exception.html">section 4.10.3.1</a> for a deeper 
discussion and examples.

<p>See also <a id="idx:messagetostring2:648"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#message_to_string/2">message_to_string/2</a>.</dd>
<dt class="pubdef"><a id="print_message_lines/3"><strong>print_message_lines</strong>(<var>+Stream, 
+Prefix, +Lines</var>)</a></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Print a message (see <a id="idx:printmessage2:649"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message/2">print_message/2</a>) 
that has been translated to a list of message elements. The elements of 
this list are:

<dl class="latex">
<dt><strong>&lt;<var>Format</var>&gt;-&lt;<var>Args</var>&gt;</strong></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Where <var>Format</var> is an atom and <var>Args</var> is a list of 
format arguments. Handed to <a id="idx:format3:650"></a><a class="pred" href="format.html#format/3">format/3</a>.
</dd>
<dt><strong>flush</strong></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
If this appears as the last element, <var>Stream</var> is flushed (see <a id="idx:flushoutput1:651"></a><a class="pred" href="chario.html#flush_output/1">flush_output/1</a>) 
and no final newline is generated. This is combined with a subsequent 
message that starts with
<code>at_same_line</code> to complete the line.
</dd>
<dt><strong>at_same_line</strong></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
If this appears as first element, no prefix is printed for the first 
line and the line position is not forced to 0 (see <a id="idx:format1:652"></a><a class="pred" href="format.html#format/1">format/1</a>, <code>~N</code>).
</dd>
<dt><strong>ansi</strong>(<var>+Attributes, +Format, +Args</var>)</dt>
<dd class="defbody">
This message may be intercepted by means of the hook 
prolog:message_line_element/2. The library <code>library(ansi_term)</code> 
implements this hook to achieve coloured output. If it is not 
intercepted it invokes <code>format(Stream, Format, Args)</code>.
</dd>
<dt><strong>nl</strong></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
A new line is started. If the message is not complete,
<var>Prefix</var> is printed before the remainder of the message.
</dd>
<dt><strong>begin</strong>(<var>Kind, Var</var>)</dt>
<dt><strong>end</strong>(<var>Var</var>)</dt>
<dd class="defbody">
The entire message is headed by <code>begin(Kind, Var)</code> and ended 
by <code>end(Var)</code>. This feature is used by, e.g., library <code>library(ansi_term)</code> 
to colour entire messages.
</dd>
<dt><strong>&lt;<var>Format</var>&gt;</strong></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Handed to <a id="idx:format3:653"></a><a class="pred" href="format.html#format/3">format/3</a> 
as <code>format(Stream, Format,[])</code>. Deprecated because it is 
ambiguous if <var>Format</var> collides with one of the atomic commands.
</dd>
</dl>

<p>See also <a id="idx:printmessage2:654"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message/2">print_message/2</a> 
and <a id="idx:messagehook3:655"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#message_hook/3">message_hook/3</a>.</dd>
<dt class="pubdef"><a id="message_hook/3"><strong>message_hook</strong>(<var>+Term, 
+Kind, +Lines</var>)</a></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Hook predicate that may be defined in the module <code>user</code> to 
intercept messages from <a id="idx:printmessage2:656"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message/2">print_message/2</a>. <var>Term</var> 
and <var>Kind</var> are the same as passed to <a id="idx:printmessage2:657"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message/2">print_message/2</a>. <var>Lines</var> 
is a list of format statements as described with <a id="idx:printmessagelines3:658"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message_lines/3">print_message_lines/3</a>. 
See also
<a id="idx:messagetostring2:659"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#message_to_string/2">message_to_string/2</a>.

<p>This predicate must be defined dynamic and multifile to allow other 
modules defining clauses for it too.</dd>
<dt class="pubdef"><a id="thread_message_hook/3"><strong>thread_message_hook</strong>(<var>+Term, 
+Kind, +Lines</var>)</a></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
As <a id="idx:messagehook3:660"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#message_hook/3">message_hook/3</a>, 
but this predicate is local to the calling thread (see <a id="idx:threadlocal1:661"></a><a class="pred" href="threadcom.html#thread_local/1">thread_local/1</a>). 
This hook is called <em>before</em> <a id="idx:messagehook3:662"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#message_hook/3">message_hook/3</a>. 
The `pre-hook' is indented to catch messages they may be produced by 
calling some goal without affecting other threads.</dd>
<dt class="pubdef"><a id="message_property/2"><strong>message_property</strong>(<var>+Kind, 
?Property</var>)</a></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
This hook can be used to define additional message kinds and the way 
they are displayed. The following properties are defined:

<dl class="latex">
<dt><strong>color</strong>(<var>-Attributes</var>)</dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Print message using ANSI terminal attributes. See <a id="idx:ansiformat3:663"></a><span class="pred-ext">ansi_format/3</span> 
for details. Here is an example, printing help messages in blue:

<pre class="code">
:- multifile user:message_property/2.

user:message_property(help, color([fg(blue)])).
</pre>

</dd>
<dt><strong>prefix</strong>(<var>-Prefix</var>)</dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Prefix printed before each line. This argument is handed to <a id="idx:format3:664"></a><a class="pred" href="format.html#format/3">format/3</a>. 
The default is <code>'~N'</code>. For example, messages of kind
<code>warning</code> use <code>'~NWarning: '</code>.</dd>
<dt><strong>location_prefix</strong>(<var>+Location, -FirstPrefix, 
-ContinuePrefix</var>)</dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Used for printing messages that are related to a source location. 
Currently, <var>Location</var> is a term <var>File</var>:<var>Line</var>.
<var>FirstPrefix</var> is the prefix for the first line and
<var>-ContinuePrefix</var> is the prefix for continuation lines. For 
example, the default for errors is

<pre class="code">
    location_prefix(File:Line, '~NERROR: ~w:~d:'-[File,Line], '~N\t')).
</pre>

</dd>
<dt><strong>stream</strong>(<var>-Stream</var>)</dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Stream to which to print the message. Default is <code>user_error</code>.</dd>
<dt><strong>wait</strong>(<var>-Seconds</var>)</dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Amount of time to wait after printing the message. Default is not to 
wait.
</dd>
</dl>

</dd>
<dt class="pubdef"><a id="prolog:message_line_element/2"><strong>prolog:message_line_element</strong>(<var>+Stream, 
+Term</var>)</a></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
This hook is called to print the individual elements of a message from
<a id="idx:printmessagelines3:665"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message_lines/3">print_message_lines/3</a>. 
This hook is used by e.g., library
<code>library(ansi_term)</code> to colour messages on ANSI-capable 
terminals.</dd>
<dt class="pubdef"><a id="message_to_string/2"><strong>message_to_string</strong>(<var>+Term, 
-String</var>)</a></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Translates a message term into a string object (see <a class="sec" href="strings.html">section 
4.24</a>).</dd>
<dt class="pubdef"><a id="version/0"><strong>version</strong></a></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Write the SWI-Prolog banner message as well as additional messages 
registered using <a id="idx:version1:666"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#version/1">version/1</a>. 
This is the default <em>initialization goal</em> which can be modified 
using <strong>-g</strong>.</dd>
<dt class="pubdef"><a id="version/1"><strong>version</strong>(<var>+Message</var>)</a></dt>
<dd class="defbody">
Register additional messages to be printed by <a id="idx:version0:667"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#version/0">version/0</a>. 
Each registered message is handed to the message translation DCG and can 
thus be defined using the hook prolog:message//1. Of not defined, it is 
simply printed.
</dd>
</dl>

<p><h4 id="sec:libprintmsg"><a id="sec:4.10.3.1"><span class="sec-nr">4.10.3.1</span> <span class="sec-title">Printing 
from libraries</span></a></h4>

<a id="sec:libprintmsg"></a>

<p>Libraries should <em>not</em> use <a id="idx:format3:668"></a><a class="pred" href="format.html#format/3">format/3</a> 
or other output predicates directly. Libraries that print informational 
output directly to the console are hard to use from code that depend on 
your textual output, such as a CGI script. The predicates in <a class="sec" href="exception.html">section 
4.10.3</a> define the API for dealing with messages. The idea behind 
this is that a library that wants to provide information about its 
status, progress, events or problems calls <a id="idx:printmessage2:669"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message/2">print_message/2</a>. 
The first argument is the
<em>level</em>. The supported levels are described with <a id="idx:printmessage2:670"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message/2">print_message/2</a>. 
Libraries typically use <code>informational</code> and <code>warning</code>, 
while libraries should use exceptions for errors (see <a id="idx:throw1:671"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#throw/1">throw/1</a>, <a id="idx:typeerror2:672"></a><span class="pred-ext">type_error/2</span>, 
etc.).

<p>The second argument is an arbitrary Prolog term that carries the 
information of the message, but <em>not</em> the precise text. The text 
is defined by the grammar rule prolog:message//1. This distinction is 
made to allow for translations and to allow hooks processing the 
information in a different way (e.g., to translate progress messages 
into a progress bar).

<p>For example, suppose we have a library that must download data from 
the Internet (e.g., based on <a id="idx:httpopen3:673"></a><span class="pred-ext">http_open/3</span>). 
The library wants to print the progress after each downloaded file. The 
code below is a good skeleton:

<pre class="code">
download_urls(List) :-
        length(List, Total),
        forall(nth1(I, List, URL),
               (   download_url(URL),
                   print_message(informational,
                                 download_url(URL, I, Total)))).
</pre>

<p>The programmer can now specify the default textual output using the 
rule below. Note that this rule may be in the same file or anywhere 
else. Notably, the application may come with several rule sets for 
different languages. This, and the user-hook example below are the 
reason to represent the message as a compound term rather than a string. 
This is similar to using message numbers in non-symbolic languages. The 
documentation of <a id="idx:printmessagelines3:674"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#print_message_lines/3">print_message_lines/3</a> 
describes the elements that may appear in the output list.

<pre class="code">
:- multifile
        prolog:message//1.

prolog:message(download_url(URL, I, Total)) --&gt;
        { Perc is round(I*100/Total) },
        [ 'Downloaded ~w; ~D from ~D (~d%)'-[URL, I, Total, Perc] ].
</pre>

<p>A <em>user</em> of the library may define rules for <a id="idx:messagehook3:675"></a><a class="pred" href="exception.html#message_hook/3">message_hook/3</a>. 
The rule below acts on the message content. Other applications can act 
on the message level and, for example, popup a message box for warnings 
and errors.

<pre class="code">
:- multifile user:message_hook/3.

message_hook(download_url(URL, I, Total), _Kind, _Lines) :-
        &lt;send this information to a GUI component&gt;
</pre>

<p>In addition, using the command line option <strong>-q</strong>, the 
user can disable all <em>informational</em> messages.

<p></body></html>