lfmt(3C) (MLX Addendum) (MLX) lfmt(3C) (MLX Addendum)
NAME
lfmt - display error message in standard format and pass to logging
and monitoring services (MLX addendum)
SYNOPSIS
#include <pfmt.h>
int lfmt(FILE *stream, long flags, char *format, ... /* args */);
DESCRIPTION
lfmt() retrieves a format string from a locale-specific message data-
base (unless MM_NOGET is specified) and uses it for printf() style
formatting of args. The output is displayed on stream. If stream is
NULL, no output is displayed.
lfmt() encapsulates the output in the standard error message format
(unless MM_NOSTD is specified, in which case the output is simply
printf() like).
lfmt() forwards its output to the logging and monitoring facility,
even if stream is NULL. Optionally, lfmt() will display the output on
the console, with a date and time stamp.
If the printf() format string is to be retrieved from a message data-
base, the format argument must have the following structure:
<catalog>:<msgnum>:<defmsg>.
If MM_NOGET is specified, only the <defmsg> part must be specified.
<catalog> is used to indicate the message database that contains the
localized version of the format string. <catalog> must be limited to
14 characters. These characters must be selected from the set of all
character values, excluding \0 (null) and the ASCII codes for
/ (slash) and : (colon).
<msgnum> is a positive number that indicates the index of the string
into the message database.
If the catalog does not exist in the locale (specified by the last
call to setlocale() using the LC_ALL or LC_MESSAGES categories), or if
the message number is out of bounds, lfmt() will attempt to retrieve
the message from the C locale. If this second retrieval fails, lfmt()
uses the <defmsg> part of the format argument.
If <catalog> is omitted, lfmt() will attempt to retrieve the string
from the default catalog specified by the last call to setcat(). In
this case, the format argument has the following structure:
:<msgnum>:<defmsg>.
lfmt() will output "Message not found!!\n" as format string if <cata-
log> is not a valid catalog name, if no catalog is specified (either
explicitly or via setcat()), if <msgnum> is not a valid number, or if
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no message could be retrieved from the message databases, and <defmsg>
was omitted.
The flags determine the type of output (i.e. whether the format should
be interpreted as is or encapsulated in the standard message format),
and the access to message catalogs to retrieve a localized version of
format.
The flags are composed of several groups, and can take the following
values (one from each group):
Output format control
MM_NOSTD Do not use the standard message format, interpret
format as a printf() format. Only catalog access
control flags, console display control and log-
ging information should be specified if MM_NOSTD
is used; all other flags will be ignored
MM_STD Output using the standard message format
(default, value 0).
Catalog access control
MM_NOGET Do not retrieve a localized version of format. In
this case, only the <defmsg> part of the format
is specified.
MM_GET Retrieve a localized version of format from the
<catalog>, using <msgid> as the index and
<defmsg> as the default message (default, value
0).
Severity (standard message format only)
MM_HALT Generates a localized version of HALT.
MM_ERROR Generates a localized version of ERROR (default,
value 0).
MM_WARNING Generates a localized version of WARNING.
MM_INFO Generates a localized version of INFO.
Additional severities can be defined. Add-on severities can be
defined with number-string pairs having numeric values from the
range [5-255], using addsev(). The numeric value ORed with other
flags will generate the specified severity.
If the severity is not defined, lfmt() uses the string SEV=N
where N is replaced by the integer severity value passed in
flags.
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Multiple severities passed in flags will not be detected as an
error. Any combination of severities will be summed and the
numeric value will cause the display of either a severity string
(if defined) or the string SEV=N (if undefined).
Action
MM_ACTION Specifies an action message. Any severity value
is superseded and replaced by a localized version
of TO FIX.
Console display control
MM_CONSOLE Display the message to the console in addition to
the specified stream.
MM_NOCONSOLE Do not display the message to the console in
addition to the specified stream (default, value
0).
Logging information
Major classification
Identifies the source of the condition. Identif-
iers are: MM_HARD (hardware), MM_SOFT (software),
and MM_FIRM (firmware).
Message source subclassification
Identifies the type of software in which the con-
dition was detected. Identifiers are: MM_APPL
(application), MM_UTIL (utility), and MM_OPSYS
(operating system).
STANDARD ERROR MESSAGE FORMAT
lfmt() displays error messages in the following format:
label: severity: text
If no label was defined by a call to setlabel(), the message is
displayed in the format:
severity: text
If lfmt() is called twice to display an error message and a helpful
action or recovery message, the output can look like:
label: severity: text
label: TO FIX: text
The environment variable LC_ALL_LABELS also affects the error message
format. If the value of LC_ALL_LABELS is `1', then error messages are
printed in the format described above. If LC_ALL_LABELS is undefined
or has a value other than `1', the severity field is not printed.
LC_ALL_LABELS also affects the interpretation of labels by setlabel().
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RETURN VALUE
Upon success, lfmt() returns the number of bytes transmitted. Upon
failure, it returns a negative value:
-1 write error to stream.
-2 cannot log and/or display at console.
EXAMPLES
The sample output for the following examples was produced with
LC_ALL_LABELS set to `1'.
Example 1:
setlabel("UX:test");
lfmt(stderr, MM_ERROR|MM_CONSOLE|MM_SOFT|MM_UTIL,
"test:2:Cannot open file: %s\n", strerror(errno));
displays the message to stderr and to the console and makes it avail-
able for logging:
UX:test: ERROR: Cannot open file: No such file or directory
Example 2:
setlabel("UX:test");
lfmt(stderr, MM_INFO|MM_SOFT|MM_UTIL,
"test:23:test facility is enabled\n");
displays the message to stderr and makes it available for logging:
UX:test: INFO: test facility enabled
SEE ALSO
lfmt(1), addsev(3C), gettxt(3C), pfmt(3C), printf(3C), setcat(3C),
setlabel(3C), setlocale(3C), environ(5), log(7).
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