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From: jack@boring.uucp (Jack Jansen)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: Compiler error messages.
Message-ID: <6913@boring.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 17-May-86 11:44:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: boring.6913
Posted: Sat May 17 11:44:07 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 23-May-86 22:30:03 EDT
References: <453@brl-smoke.ARPA> <219@aplvax.UUCP> <942@umd5.UUCP> <183@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> <baylor.643> <473@cubsvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: jack@mcvax.UUCP (Jack Jansen)
Organization: AMOEBA project, CWI, Amsterdam
Lines: 40
Apparently-To: rnews@mcvax

>In article <baylor.643> peter@baylor.UUCP writes:
>>
>>On the other hand, I found VAX/VMS 'C' a real pain after UNIX because it
>>put all the error messages in this huge ugly listing instead of a brief
>>list so I could find them. Of course the stupid bloody editor that didn't
>>have a shell escape or any sort of facility for editing multiple files
>>didn't help. 
>

Hah! You thought that was bad? You should run the program
main() {
    foo(bar)
}
through the prime C compiler. It will say something along the
following lines:
    foo(bar);
	  ^
Error #274, Source file = c.c, line 2. Severity=Error Class=fixable.
Dear programm}ier. You seem to have used a variable called "bar"
in the above-mentioned line. However, you never told me what "bar" is.
In my infinite helpfulness, I've inserted a "static int bar" declaration
at the innermost level (this is, the innermost level at the time
of the fault). I should warn you that, even though I say that this
error is fixable, that this does not imply that I will hereafter
produce a runnable program. It merely means that I will continue to
look for more dumb mistakes, which will give me a chance to print more
of these polite and lengthy error messages. 

[I may have overdone the frasing a bit, but the idea is clear, I
hope].

Problem is, there's *nobody* who benefits from such an explanation.
Experienced user could do with
2: bar undefined
and novices probably don't have a clue what 'innermost levels'
and 'statics' are. 

-- 
	Jack Jansen, jack@mcvax.UUCP
	The shell is my oyster.