code: public static URI createUri(final String url, final boolean strict) {
          try {
              return newUri(url, strict);
          } catch (URISyntaxException e) {
              throw new AssertionError("Error creating URI: " + e.getMessage());
          }
      }
docs: Creates a new URI based off the given string.  This function differs from newUri in that it throws an
  AssertionError instead of a URISyntaxException - so it is suitable for use in static locations as long as
  you can be sure it is a valid string that is being parsed.
  
  @param url the string to parse
  @param strict whether or not to perform strict escaping. (defaults to false)
  @return the parsed, normalized URI