Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!bellcore!texbell!uhnix1!sugar!ficc!peter
From: peter@ficc.uu.net (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: friendly messages
Message-ID: <3283@ficc.uu.net>
Date: 2 Mar 89 21:07:56 GMT
References: <435@laic.UUCP> <955@auspex.UUCP> <9218@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <1069@auspex.UUCP>
Distribution: usa
Organization: Xenix Support
Lines: 36

Have you looked at the new "perror()" docs? They describe a 4-component
error message format for all programs to use, containing the name of the
program issuing the message, the name of the object responsible, the error
message itself, and a severity level (INFO, WARNING, ERROR, FATAL).

Like this:

	% cat /dev/dull
	cat: fatal: /dev/dull: No such file or directory

Unfortunately, they still haven't bothered to make all programs use perror()
itself! This, all by itself, would take care of the biggest problems with
UNIX error messages.

You get this:
	% cat /dev/dull
	cat: cannot open /dev/dull
	% nm /dev/dull
	nm: can't open "/dev/dull"
	% file /dev/dull
	/dev/dull:     cannot open

Doesn't exist? File not found? What?

At least they could do this:
	% more /dev/dull
	/dev/dull: No such file or directory

That's more like it.

It'd take one summer student to fix this. Sigh...
-- 
Peter da Silva, Xenix Support, Ferranti International Controls Corporation.
Work: uunet.uu.net!ficc!peter, peter@ficc.uu.net, +1 713 274 5180.   `-_-'
Home: bigtex!texbell!sugar!peter, peter@sugar.uu.net.                 'U`
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