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diff --git a/manual/stdio.texi b/manual/stdio.texi index 3e73155..3d6a6c1 100644 --- a/manual/stdio.texi +++ b/manual/stdio.texi @@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ representing a communications channel to a file, device, or process. * Stream Buffering:: How to control buffering of streams. * Other Kinds of Streams:: Streams that do not necessarily correspond to an open file. +* Formatted Messages:: Print strictly formatted messages. @end menu @node Streams @@ -3815,3 +3816,311 @@ wait until the rest of the manual is more done and polished. @end ignore @c ??? This section could use an example. + + +@node Formatted Messages +@section Formatted Messages +@cindex formatted messages + +On systems which are based on System V messages of programs (especially +the system tools) are printed in a strict form using the @code{fmtmsg} +function. The uniformity sometimes helps the user to interpret messages +and the strictness tests of the @code{fmtmsg} function ensures that the +programmer follows some minimal requirements. + +@menu +* Printing Formatted Messages:: The @code{fmtmsg} function. +* Adding Severity Classes:: Add more severity classes. +* Example:: How to use @code{fmtmsg} and @code{addseverity}. +@end menu + + +@node Printing Formatted Messages +@subsection Printing Formatted Messages + +Messages can be printed to standard error and/or to the console. To +select the destination the programmer can use the following to values, +bitwise OR combined if wanted, for the @var{classification} parameter of +@code{fmtmsg}: + +@vtable @code +@item MM_PRINT +Display the message in standard error. +@item MM_CONSOLE +Display the message on the system console. +@end vtable + +The errorneous piece of the system can be signal by exactly one of the +following values which also is bitwise ORed with the +@var{classification} parameter to @code{fmtmsg}: + +@vtable @code +@item MM_HARD +The source of the condition is some hardware. +@item MM_SOFT +The source of the condition is some software. +@item MM_FIRM +The source of the condition is some firmware. +@end vtable + +A third component of the @var{classification} parameter to @code{fmtmsg} +can describe the part of the system which detects the problem. This is +done by using exactly one of the following values: + +@vtable @code +@item MM_APPL +The errorneous condition is detected by the application. +@item MM_UTIL +The errorneous condition is detected by a utility. +@item MM_OPSYS +The errorneous condition is detected by the operating system. +@end vtable + +A last component of @var{classification} can signal the results of this +message. Exactly one of the following values can be used: + +@vtable @code +@item MM_RECOVER +It is a recoverable error. +@item MM_NRECOV +It is a non-recoverable error. +@end vtable + +@comment fmtmsg.h +@comment XPG +@deftypefun int fmtmsg (long int @var{classification}, const char *@var{label}, int @var{severity}, const char *@var{text}, const char *@var{action}, const char *@var{tag}) +Display a message described by its parameters on the device(s) specified +in the @var{classification} parameter. The @var{label} parameter +identifies the source of the message. The string should consist of two +colon separated parts where the first part has not more than 10 and the +second part not more the 14 characters. The @var{text} parameter +descries the condition of the error, the @var{action} parameter possible +steps to recover from the error and the @var{tag} parameter is a +reference to the online documentation where more information can be +found. It should contain the @var{label} value and a unique +identification number. + +Each of the parameters can be of a special value which means this value +is to be omitted. The symbolic names for these values are: + +@vtable @code +@item MM_NULLLBL +Ignore @var{label} parameter. +@item MM_NULLSEV +Ignore @var{severity} parameter. +@item MM_NULLMC +Ignore @var{classification} parameter. This implies that nothing is +actually printed. +@item MM_NULLTXT +Ignore @var{text} parameter. +@item MM_NULLACT +Ignore @var{action} parameter. +@item MM_NULLTAG +Ignore @var{tag} parameter. +@end vtable + +There is another way certain fields can be omitted from the output the +standard error. This is described below in the description of +environment variables influencing the behaviour. + +The @var{severity} parameter can have one of the values in the following +table: +@cindex severity class + +@vtable @code +@item MM_NOSEV +Nothing is printed, this value is the same as @code{MM_NULLSEV}. +@item MM_HALT +This value is printed as @code{HALT}. +@item MM_ERROR +This value is printed as @code{ERROR}. +@item MM_WARNING +This value is printed as @code{WARNING}. +@item MM_INFO +This value is printed as @code{INFO}. +@end vtable + +The numeric value of these five macros are between @code{0} and +@code{4}. Using the environment variable @code{SEV_LEVEL} or using the +@code{addseverity} function one can add more severity levels with their +corresponding string to print. This is described below +(@pxref{Adding Severity Classes}). + +@noindent +If no parameter is ignored the output looks like this: + +@smallexample +@var{label}: @var{severity-string}: @var{text} +TO FIX: @var{action} @var{tag} +@end smallexample + +The colons, new line characters and the @code{TO FIX} string are +inserted if necessary, i.e., if the corresponding parameter is not +ignored. + +This function is specified in the X/Open Portability Guide. It is also +available on all system derived from System V. + +The function return the value @code{MM_OK} if no error occurred. If +only the printing to standard error failed, it returns @code{MM_NOMSG}. +If printing to the console fails, it returns @code{MM_NOCON}. If +nothing is printed @code{MM_NOTOK} is returned. Among situation where +all outputs fail this last value is also returned if a parameter value +is incorrect. +@end deftypefun + +There are two environment variables which influence the behaviour of +@code{fmtmsg}. The first is @code{MSGVERB}. It is used to control the +output actually happening on standard error (@emph{not} the console +output). Each of the five fields can explicitely be enabled. To do +this the user has to put the @code{MSGVERB} variable with a format like +following in the environment before calling the @code{fmtmsg} function +the first time: + +@smallexample +MSGVERB=@var{keyword}[:@var{keyword}[:...]] +@end smallexample + +Valid @var{keyword}s are @code{label}, @code{severity}, @code{text}, +@code{action}, and @code{tag}. If the environment variable is not given +or is the empty string, a not supported keyword is given or the value is +somehow else invalid, no part of the message is masked out. + +The second environment variable which influences the behaviour of +@code{fmtmsg} is @code{SEV_LEVEL}. This variable and the change in the +behaviour of @code{fmtmsg} is not specified in the X/Open Portability +Guide. It is available in System V systems, though. It can be used to +introduce no severity levels. By default, only the five severity levels +described above are available. Any other numeric value would make +@code{fmtmsg} print nothing. + +If the user puts @code{SEV_LEVEL} with a format like + +@smallexample +SEV_LEVEL=[@var{description}[:@var{description}[:...]]] +@end smallexample + +@noindent +in the environment of the process before the first call to +@code{fmtmsg}, where @var{description} has a value of the form + +@smallexample +@var{severity-keyword},@var{level},@var{printstring} +@end smallexample + +The @var{severity-keyword} part is not used by @code{fmtmsg} but it has +to be present. The @var{level} part is a string representation of a +number. The numeric value must be a number greater than 4. This value +must be used in the @var{severity} parameter of @code{fmtmsg} to select +this class. It is not possible to overwrite any of the predefined +classes. The @var{printstring} is the string printed when a message of +this class is processed by @code{fmtmsg} (see above, @code{fmtsmg} does +not print the numeric value but instead the string representation). + + +@node Adding Severity Classes +@subsection Adding Severity Classes +@cindex severity class + +There is another possibility to introduce severity classes beside using +the environment variable @code{SEV_LEVEL}. This simplifies the task of +introducing new classes in a running program. One could use the +@code{setenv} or @code{putenv} function to set the environment variable, +but this toilsome. + +@deftypefun int addseverity (int @var{severity}, const char *@var{string}) +This function allows to introduce new severity classes which can be +addressed by the @var{severity} parameter of the @code{fmtmsg} function. +The @var{severity} parameter of @code{addseverity} must match the value +for the parameter with the same name of @code{fmtmsg} and @var{string} +is the string printed in the actual messages instead of the numeric +value. + +If @var{string} is @code{NULL} the severity class with the numeric value +according to @var{severity} is removed. + +The return value is @code{MM_OK} if the task was successfully performed. +If the return value is @code{MM_NOTOK} something went wrong. This could +mean that no more memory is available or a class is not available when +it has to be removed. + +This function is not specified in the X/Open Portability Guide although +the @code{fmtsmg} is. It is available on System V systems. +@end deftypefun + + +@node Example +@subsection How to use @code{fmtmsg} and @code{addseverity} + +Here is a simple example program to illustrate the use of the both +functions described in this section. + +@smallexample +@include fmtmsgexpl.c.texi +@end smallexample + +The second call to @code{fmtmsg} illustrates a use of this function how +it usually happens on System V systems which heavily use this function. +It might be worth a thought to follow the scheme used in System V +systems so we give a short explanation here. The value of the +@var{label} field (@code{UX:cat}) says that the error occured in the +Unix program @code{cat}. The explanation of the error follows and the +value for the @var{action} parameter is @code{"refer to manual"}. One +could me more specific here, if needed. The @var{tag} field contains, +as proposed above, the value of the string given for the @var{label} +parameter, and additionally a unique ID (@code{001} in this case). For +a GNU environment this string could contain a reference to the +corresponding node in the Info page for the program. + +@noindent +Running this program without specifying the @code{MSGVERB} and +@code{SEV_LEVEL} function produces the following output: + +@smallexample +UX:cat: NOTE2: invalid syntax +TO FIX: refer to manual UX:cat:001 +@end smallexample + +We see the different fields of the message and how the extra glue (the +colons and the @code{TO FIX} string) are printed. But only one of the +three calls to @code{fmtmsg} produced output. The first call does not +print anything because the @var{label} parameter is not in the correct +form. As specified in @ref{Printing Formatted Messages} the string must +contain two fields, separated by a colon. The third @code{fmtmsg} call +produced no output since the class with the numeric value @code{6} is +not defined. Although a class with numeric value @code{5} is also not +defined by default, the call the @code{addseverity} introduces it and +the second call to @code{fmtmsg} produces the above outout. + +When we change the environment of the program to contain +@code{SEV_LEVEL=XXX,6,NOTE} when running it we get a different result: + +@smallexample +UX:cat: NOTE2: invalid syntax +TO FIX: refer to manual UX:cat:001 +label:foo: NOTE: text +TO FIX: action tag +@end smallexample + +Now the third call the @code{fmtmsg} produced some output and we see how +the string @code{NOTE} from the environment variable appears in the +message. + +Now we can reduce the output by specifying in which fields we are +interested in. If we additionally set the environment variable +@code{MSGVERB} to the value @code{severity:label:action} we get the +following output: + +@smallexample +UX:cat: NOTE2 +TO FIX: refer to manual +label:foo: NOTE +TO FIX: action +@end smallexample + +@noindent +I.e., the output produced by the @var{text} and the @var{tag} parameters +to @code{fmtmsg} vanished. Please also note the now there is no colon +after the @code{NOTE} and @code{NOTE2} strings in the output. This is +not necessary since there is no more output on this line since the text +is missing. |