error message
An error message , english message Error , is a reaction of a computer program to a recognized bug or a known error situation.
Types of error messages
The user is given information such. B. as a plain text error message or as an error code ( error code ) about the event. This output can be sent to the standard error output (STDERR) of the running environment or a special address (such as a log file ).
Expected error situations, e.g. B. User entries can be checked by a plausibility check and output as an error message if they deviate from the permitted values. They can also be used internally program as a condition for further steps ( division by zero , the presence of a value, a variable, a command or an address, etc.) - this process is called error handling ( english "Error handling" ), respectively.
Unexpected errors, e.g. B. Protection violation can result in the application software crashing . In this case, the error message can only be displayed by the operating system . Error messages of the kernel ( English "stop errors" ) lead to blue screen or the panic kernel . Historical variants are Sad Mac and Bomb for the Apple Macintosh and Guru Meditation for the Amiga .
Often errors and the associated messages are output by complex diagnostic / reporting software (so-called " error collector "), which also collects usable information and transmits this data directly to the manufacturer via the Internet .
Bug on the internet
The best-known abort code is the so-called 404 error dead link on the Internet. This is displayed if a website does not exist or cannot be reached. Often there are also 403: "Missing access authorization" and 400: "Incorrect request".
An HTTP status code is provided by a server in response to every HTTP request. A client , such as a web browser, is on the requesting side . The server uses the HTTP status code to inform the client whether the request has been processed successfully. In the event of an error, the status code provides information about where (for example via a diversion) or how (for example with authentication) he can get the desired information.
Interpretation of error messages
The information in the error message is often incomprehensible to the user, but there are several Internet forums and newsgroups in which members take up such topics and offer instructions for workarounds and avoidance of errors or other additional information. This often requires the specification of the exact wording of the error message, which can be done by copying and pasting in order to rule out typing errors.
See also
- Bug reporting - the reporting of bugs: the sending of information about (a) bug to the software developers
