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)