NAME

fmtmsg - display a message in the specified format on standard error and/or a system console

 SYNOPSIS

#include <fmtmsg.h>

int fmtmsg(long classification, const char *label, int severity,
    const char *text, const char *action, const char *tag);

 DESCRIPTION

The fmtmsg() function can be used to display messages in a specified format instead of the traditional printf() function.

Based on a message's classification component, fmtmsg() writes a formatted message either to standard error, to the console, or to both.

A formatted message consists of up to five components as defined below. The component classification is not part of a message displayed to the user, but defines the source of the message and directs the display of the formatted message.

classification

Contains identifiers from the following groups of major classifications and subclassifications. Any one identifier from a subclass may be used in combination with a single identifier from a different subclass. Two or more identifiers from the same subclass should not be used together, with the exception of identifiers from the display subclass. (Both display subclass identifiers may be used so that messages can be displayed to both standard error and the system console).

Major Classifications

Identifies the source of the condition. Identifiers are: MM_HARD (hardware), MM_SOFT (software), and MM_FIRM (firmware).

Message Source Subclassifications

Identifies the type of software in which the problem is detected. Identifiers are: MM_APPL (application), MM_UTIL (utility), and MM_OPSYS (operating system).

Display Subclassifications

Indicates where the message is to be displayed. Identifiers are: MM_PRINT to display the message on the standard error stream, MM_CONSOLE to display the message on the system console. One or both identifiers may be used.

Status Subclassifications

Indicates whether the application will recover from the condition. Identifiers are: MM_RECOVER (recoverable) and MM_NRECOV (non-recoverable).

An additional identifier, MM_NULLMC, indicates that no classification component is supplied for the message.

label

Identifies the source of the message. The format is two fields separated by a colon. The first field is up to 10 bytes, the second is up to 14 bytes.

severity

Indicates the seriousness of the condition. Identifiers for the levels of severity are:

MM_HALT

Indicates that the application has encountered a severe fault and is halting. Produces the string "HALT".

MM_ERROR

Indicates that the application has detected a fault. Produces the string "ERROR".

MM_WARNING

Indicates a condition that is out of the ordinary, that might be a problem, and should be watched. Produces the string "WARNING".

MM_INFO

Provides information about a condition that is not in error. Produces the string "INFO".

MM_NOSEV

Indicates that no severity level is supplied for the message.

text

Describes the error condition that produced the message. The character string is not limited to a specific size. If the character string is empty, then the text produced is unspecified.

action

Describes the first step to be taken in the error-recovery process. The fmtmsg() function precedes the action string with the prefix: "TO FIX:". The action string is not limited to a specific size.

tag

An identifier that references on-line documentation for the message. Suggested usage is that tag includes the label and a unique identifying number. A sample tag is "XSI:cat:146".

The MSGVERB environment variable (for message verbosity) tells fmtmsg() which message components it is to select when writing messages to standard error. The value of MSGVERB is a colon-separated list of optional keywords. Valid keywords are: label, severity, text, action, and tag. If MSGVERB contains a keyword for a component and the component's value is not the component's null value, fmtmsg() includes that component in the message when writing the message to standard error. If MSGVERB does not include a keyword for a message component, that component is not included in the display of the message. The keywords may appear in any order. If MSGVERB is not defined, if its value is the null string, if its value is not of the correct format, or if it contains keywords other than the valid ones listed above, fmtmsg() selects all components.

MSGVERB affects only which components are selected for display to standard error. All message components are included in console messages.

 RETURN VALUE

The fmtmsg() function returns one of the following values:

MM_OK

The function succeeded.

MM_NOTOK

The function failed completely.

MM_NOMSG

The function was unable to generate a message on standard error, but otherwise succeeded.

MM_NOCON

The function was unable to generate a console message, but otherwise succeeded.

 ERRORS

None.

 EXAMPLES

Example 1:

The following example of fmtmsg():

fmtmsg(MM_PRINT, "XSI:cat", MM_ERROR, "illegal option",
"refer to cat in user's reference manual", "XSI:cat:001")

produces a complete message in the specified message format:

XSI:cat: ERROR: illegal option
TO FIX: refer to cat in user's reference manual XSI:cat:001

Example 2:

When the environment variable MSGVERB is set as follows:

MSGVERB=severity:text:action

and the Example 1 is used, fmtmsg() produces:

ERROR: illegal option
TO FIX: refer to cat in user's reference manual

 APPLICATION USAGE

One or more message components may be systematically omitted from messages generated by an application by using the null value of the argument for that component.

 FUTURE DIRECTIONS

None.

 SEE ALSO

printf(), <fmtmsg.h>.