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From: jsq@ut-sally.UUCP (John Quarterman)
Newsgroups: mod.std.unix
Subject: Re: standardized error messages
Message-ID: <2560@ut-sally.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 1-Aug-85 16:43:46 EDT
Article-I.D.: ut-sally.2560
Posted: Thu Aug  1 16:43:46 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 3-Aug-85 03:08:38 EDT
References: <2391@ut-sally.UUCP> <2461@ut-sally.UUCP> <2474@ut-sally.UUCP>
Reply-To: std-unix@ut-sally.UUCP
Organization: U. Texas CS Dept., Austin, Texas
Lines: 132
Approved: jsq@ut-sally.UUCP
Summary: if this doesn't get standardized, everybody will do it anyway

From: John Quarterman (moderator) <std-unix-request@ut-sally>
Topic: standardized error messages

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: oakhill!mot!fred (Fred Christiansen)
Date: Fri, 26 Jul 85 16:19:00 cdt
To: oakhill!ut-sally!jsq@tzec.UTEXAS.ARPA
Subject: Re: standardized error messages

the SVID has specifics in Appendix BASE 5.6 (p. 341), which i shall attempt
to summarize:
	the std error msg has 5 parts:
		Label		who's issuing this msg
		Severity	4 possible codes (halt, error, warning, fyi)
		Problem		what went wrong
		Action		"TO FIX" do such and such
		Tag		unique error msg id which can be used to
				track down more info

Fred Christiansen ("Canajun, eh?") @ Motorola Microsystems, Tempe, AZ
UUCP:  ihnp4!{attunix, btlunix, drivax, sftig, ut-sally!oakhill}!mot!fred
ARPA:  oakhill!mot!fred@ut-sally.ARPA             AT&T:  602-438-3472

------------------------------

From: Mike Trachtman  <wizard%wisdom.bitnet@WISCVM.ARPA>
Date: Sun, 28 Jul 85 14:59:04 -0200
To: std-unix@ut-sally.arpa
Subject: standard error messages.

A standard for error messages should be very strict about punctuation,
and where line numbers go.
somthing like

command: filename (linenumber) - severity - message

this is getting kind of IBMsh, but programs should be able
to parse errors, and thus errors should be in a standard form.

errors should definitely include the following

1) the filename where the error was
2) the line number
3) the error, (or in greps case, the line that contained the word

optionally, but in a set format

1) the command or routine that found the error
2) the Unix errno
3) some program generated error number
4) an indication of the severity

Of course, these are only opinions, and they are only my opinions.
Mike

        wizard@wisdom                           (BITNET)
        wizard%wisdom.bitnet@wiscvm.ARPA        (ARPA/CSNET)
        wizard%wisdom.bitnet@berkley            (ARPA/CSNET)
and if all else fails (ONLY for VERY short items)
        ...!decvax!humus!wisdom!wizard          (UUCP)

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 24 Jul 85 16:18:22 edt
From: Chris Torek <chris@maryland>
To: std-unix@ut-sally
Subject: Re: standardized error messages

Hm.  It's probably too late, but I would suggest that any standard
library routine for printing error message use printf-style
conversions (preferably it should be exactly like printf once you
get past severity stuff and whatnot).

In case anyone wants it, here's the routine I installed in our C
library on our "experimental" machine (it wants a bit of support
in the startup code to set _argv0 to argv[0], so that the program
name is included in error messages, but will work without it).  It
is not (alas!) portable, but can be made to work on any of the
popular Unix machines.  (I have a manual entry, if anyone cares.)

Chris

#include <stdio.h>

char *_argv0;			/* argv[0], set by C startup code */

/*
 * error - University of Maryland specific (sigh)
 *
 * Useful for printing error messages.  Will print the program name
 * and (optionally) the system error associated with the values in
 * <errno.h>.
 *
 * Note that the type (and even the existence!) of ``arg'' is undefined.
 */
error(quit, e, fmt, arg)
	int quit;
	register int e;
	char *fmt;
{
	extern char *sys_errlist[];
	extern int sys_nerr;
	register char *p = _argv0;

	if (p != NULL) {
#ifdef optional
		char *s, *rindex();

		if ((s = rindex(p, '/')) != NULL)
			p = s + 1;
#endif
		(void) fprintf(stderr, "%s: ", p);
	}
	_doprnt(fmt, &arg, stderr);	/* magic */
	if (e > 0) {
		p = e < sys_nerr ? sys_errlist[e] : "unknown error";
		(void) fprintf(stderr, ": %s", p);
	}
	(void) putc('\n', stderr);
	(void) fflush(stderr);
	if (quit)
		exit(quit);
}

------------------------------

Discussions-Of: UNIX standards, particularly the IEEE P1003 draft standard.
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Comments-To: ut-sally!std-unix-request	or std-unix-request@ut-sally.ARPA
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