compile_et(1) [debian man page]

COMPILE_ET(1)						      General Commands Manual						     COMPILE_ET(1)

NAME

       compile_et - error table compiler

SYNOPSIS

       compile_et file

DESCRIPTION

       Compile_et  converts  a	table  listing	error-code names and associated messages into a C source file suitable for use with the com_err(3)
       library.

       The source file name must end with a suffix of ``.et''; the file consists of a declaration supplying the name (up to four characters  long)
       of the error-code table:

       error_table name

       followed by up to 256 entries of the form:

       error_code name, " string "

       and a final

       end

       to indicate the end of the table.

       The  name  of  the  table  is  used to construct the name of a subroutine initialize_XXXX_error_table which must be called in order for the
       com_err library to recognize the error table.

       The various error codes defined are assigned sequentially increasing numbers (starting with a large number computed as a hash  function	of
       the  name  of  the table); thus for compatibility it is suggested that new codes be added only to the end of an existing table, and that no
       codes be removed from tables.

       The names defined in the table are placed into a C header file with preprocessor directives defining them as integer constants of up to	32
       bits in magnitude.

       A  C source file is also generated which should be compiled and linked with the object files which reference these error codes; it contains
       the text of the messages and the initialization subroutine.  Both C files have names derived from that of the original  source  file,  with
       the ``.et'' suffix replaced by ``.c'' and ``.h''.

       A ``#'' in the source file is treated as a comment character, and all remaining text to the end of the source line will be ignored.

BUGS

       Since  the  original compile_et uses a very simple parser based on yacc(1), and this current version of compile_et uses an awk/sed combina-
       tion of scripts, its error recovery leaves much to be desired.

SEE ALSO

       com_err (3).

       Ken Raeburn, "A Common Error Description Library for UNIX".

SIPB
								    30 Mar 1998 						     COMPILE_ET(1)

COM_ERR(3)						     Library Functions Manual							COM_ERR(3)

NAME

       com_err - common error display routine

SYNOPSIS

	#include <et/com_err.h>
       void (*proc) (const char *, long, const char *, va_list);

       void com_err (const char *whoami, long code, const char *format, ...);

       proc = set_com_err_hook (proc);

       proc = reset_com_err_hook ();

       void initialize_XXXX_error_table ();

DESCRIPTION

       Com_err	displays  an error message on the standard error stream stderr (see stdio(3S)) composed of the whoami string, which should specify
       the program name or some subportion of a program, followed by an error message generated from the code value (derived from  compile_et(1)),
       and a string produced using the format string and any following arguments, in the same style as fprintf(3).

       The  behavior  of  com_err  can	be  modified using set_com_err_hook; this defines a procedure which is called with the arguments passed to
       com_err, instead of the default internal procedure which sends the formatted text to error output.  Thus the error messages from a  program
       can  all easily be diverted to another form of diagnostic logging, such as syslog(3).  Reset_com_err_hook may be used to restore the behav-
       ior of com_err to its default form.  Both procedures return the previous ``hook'' value.  These ``hook'' procedures must have the  declara-
       tion given for proc above in the synopsis.

       The  initialize_XXXX_error_table  routine  is  generated  mechanically  by compile_et(1) from a source file containing names and associated
       strings.  Each table has a name of up to four characters, which is used in place of the XXXX in the name of the	routine.   These  routines
       should  be  called  before any of the corresponding error codes are used, so that the com_err library will recognize error codes from these
       tables when they are used.

       The com_err.h header file should be included in any source file that uses routines from the  com_err  library;  executable  files  must	be
       linked using ``-lcom_err'' in order to cause the com_err library to be included.

SEE ALSO

       compile_et(1), syslog(3).

       Ken Raeburn, "A Common Error Description Library for UNIX".

SIPB
								    22 Nov 1988 							COM_ERR(3)