4 ms·
IBM has done this for decades. For many products, especially on the mainframe, every message has a unique identifier, typically with a prefix for the module or
by wsh 4y ago
IBM has done this for decades. For many products, especially on the mainframe, every message has a unique identifier, typically with a prefix for the module or subsystem that generated it, a message number, and an action or severity code, such as “I” for information or “E” for error.
A series of Messages and Codes books is supposed to list every message, each with an explanation and suggested user, administrator, or programmer response.
This was more important when messages were practically limited to a single line on a CRT or teletypewriter, and customers had only the printed or microfiche documentation, not online help or websites, but it’s still valuable today.
- dejj 4y agoError -41: sit by a lake https://xkcd.com/1024/ https://xkcd.com/1024/
- randomswede 4y agoLikewise Digital, all VMS error codes are "SUB-S-NAME" (so a permissions error when dealing with a file woule be something like "%RMS-E-NOPERM" (I think that's "rotating mass storage" rather than "Richard M. Stallman"). I think that even harks back to various OSes on the PDP-11, but cannot say for sure.
- kjellsbells 4y agoIm always amused when I see the HN community get excited about something that the greybeards figured out 40 or 50 years ago. Turns out grandma knew what she was doing after all. If only there was a better way for the wisdom of sages to be transmitted to this generation without eyerolling over IBM and DEC. Now get off my lawn!