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.Dd November 22, 1988 .Dt COMPILE_ET 1 .Os .Sh NAME .Nm compile_et .Nd error table compiler .Sh SYNOPSIS .Nm compile_et .Ar file .Sh DESCRIPTION .Nm Compile_et converts a table listing error-code names and associated messages into a C source file suitable for use with the .Xr com_err 3 library.
p 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:
p .Em error_table name
p followed by up to 256 entries of the form:
p .Em error_code name , .No \(dq Ns Em string Ns \(dq
p and a final
p .Em end
p to indicate the end of the table.
p The name of the table is used to construct the name of a subroutine .Em initialize_XXXX_error_table which must be called in order for the .Xr com_err 3 library to recognize the error table.
p 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.
p 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.
p 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''.
p 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. .Sh SEE ALSO .Xr yacc 1 , .Xr com_err 3 .Rs .%A Ken Raeburn .%T "A Common Error Description Library for UNIX" .Re .Sh BUGS Since .Nm compile_et uses a very simple parser based on .Xr yacc 1 , its error recovery leaves much to be desired.