docs: def does_external_program_run(prog, verbose):
      """Test to see if the external programs can be run."""
      try:
          with open('/dev/null') as null:
              subprocess.call([prog, '-h'], stdout=null, stderr=null)
          result = True
      except OSError:
          if verbose > 1:
              print("couldn't run {}".format(prog))
          result = False
  
      return result