NAME

mkstr − create an error message file by massaging C source

SYNOPSIS

mkstr [ − ] messagefile prefix file ... 

DESCRIPTION

Mkstr is used to create files of error messages.  Its use can make programs with large numbers of error diagnostics much smaller, and reduce system overhead in running the program as the error messages do not have to be constantly swapped in and out. 

Mkstr will process each of the specified files, placing a massaged version of the input file in a file whose name consists of the specified prefix and the original name. 

To process the error messages in the source to the message file mkstr keys on the string ‘error("’ in the input stream.  Each time it occurs, the C string starting at the " is placed in the message file followed by a new-line character and a null character; the null character terminates the message so it can be easily used when retrieved, the new-line character makes it possible to sensibly cat the error message file to see its contents.  The massaged copy of the input file then contains a lseek pointer into the file which can be used to retrieve the message, i.e.:

charefilname[] =  "/usr/lib/pi_strings";
intefil = −1;

error(a1, a2, a3, a4)
{
char buf[256];

if (efil < 0) {
efil = open(efilname, 0);
if (efil < 0) {
oops:
perror(efilname);
exit(1);
}
}
if (lseek(efil, (long) a1, 0) | | read(efil, buf, 256) <= 0)
goto oops;
printf(buf, a2, a3, a4);
}

The optional − causes the error messages to be placed at the end of the specified message file for recompiling part of a large mkstred program.

EXAMPLE

If the current directory has files "a.c" and "b.c", then

mkstr exs x *.c

would create a new file "exs" which holds all the error messages extracted from the source files "a.c" and "b.c", as well as two new source files "xa.c" and "xb.c" which no longer contains the extracted error messages. 

SEE ALSO

lseek(2). 

BUGS

All the arguments except the name of the file to be processed are unnecessary. 

AUTHORS

Bill Joy and Charles Haley. 

Version 2.5  —  April 22, 1987