From owner-freebsd-arch@FreeBSD.ORG  Wed Dec 22 04:29:56 2004
Return-Path: <owner-freebsd-arch@FreeBSD.ORG>
Delivered-To: freebsd-arch@freebsd.org
Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125])
	by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP
	id 2DA4E16A4CF; Wed, 22 Dec 2004 04:29:56 +0000 (GMT)
Received: from athena.softcardsystems.com (mail.softcardsystems.com
	[12.34.136.114])	by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP
	id 8F38043D54; Wed, 22 Dec 2004 04:29:55 +0000 (GMT)
	(envelope-from sah@softcardsystems.com)
Received: from athena (athena [12.34.136.114])iBM5OGVS019581;
	Wed, 22 Dec 2004 00:24:16 -0500
Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2004 00:24:16 -0500 (EST)
From: Sam <sah@softcardsystems.com>
X-X-Sender: sah@athena
To: "Greg 'groggy' Lehey" <grog@freebsd.org>
In-Reply-To: <20041222020308.GX53357@wantadilla.lemis.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.60.0412220018340.18646@athena>
References: <20041222010143.GS53357@wantadilla.lemis.com>
	<20041222020308.GX53357@wantadilla.lemis.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
cc: FreeBSD Architecture Mailing List <arch@freebsd.org>
Subject: Re: Header files with enums instead of defines?
X-BeenThere: freebsd-arch@freebsd.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1
Precedence: list
List-Id: Discussion related to FreeBSD architecture
	<freebsd-arch.freebsd.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-arch>,
	<mailto:freebsd-arch-request@freebsd.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-arch>
List-Post: <mailto:freebsd-arch@freebsd.org>
List-Help: <mailto:freebsd-arch-request@freebsd.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-arch>,
	<mailto:freebsd-arch-request@freebsd.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2004 04:29:56 -0000

> On Tuesday, 21 December 2004 at 20:43:14 -0500, Brian Fundakowski Feldman wrote:
>> On Wed, Dec 22, 2004 at 11:31:43AM +1030, Greg 'groggy' Lehey wrote:
>>> Has anybody thought about replacing #defines with enums in header
>>> files?  It would make debugging a whole lot easier.  Foe example, I'm
>>> currently looking at a debug printout which contains:
>>>
>>>   xerrno = 17,
>>>
>>> To find out what that means, I need to go to
>>> /usr/src/include/sys/errno.h and look for 17.  I find:
>>>
>>> #define	EEXIST		17		/* File exists */
>>>
>>> If we were to change this to
>>>
>>> enum EEXIST = 17;	                /* File exists */
>>>
>>> I'd then be able to see:
>>>
>>>   xerrno = EEXIST,
>>>
>>> That makes debugging a whole lot easier.  About the only down side I
>>> can see is that you can't #undef an enum.  Is this a big deal?
>>
>> I think you'll screw up an awful lot of people that #ifdef based upon
>> the errno names.
>
> *sigh*  Yes, I didn't think about that.  Never mind.

Seems a shame to forgo utility to avoid breaking a fragile
assumption.  Maybe an ifdef ERRNO_T in errno.h that defines
an enum errno_t instead?

Sam