From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG  Tue Mar 31 19:13:47 2009
Return-Path: <owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG>
Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34])
	by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 5D9231065677
	for <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>;
	Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:13:47 +0000 (UTC)
	(envelope-from freebsd@edvax.de)
Received: from mx02.qsc.de (mx02.qsc.de [213.148.130.14])
	by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 1A1A68FC17
	for <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>;
	Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:13:46 +0000 (UTC)
	(envelope-from freebsd@edvax.de)
Received: from r55.edvax.de (port-92-196-37-253.dynamic.qsc.de [92.196.37.253])
	by mx02.qsc.de (Postfix) with ESMTP id 1257316C0159;
	Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:13:46 +0200 (CEST)
Received: from r55.edvax.de (localhost [127.0.0.1])
	by r55.edvax.de (8.14.2/8.14.2) with SMTP id n2VJDed0001546;
	Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:13:40 +0200 (CEST)
	(envelope-from freebsd@edvax.de)
Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:13:39 +0200
From: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de>
To: Bruce Cran <bruce@cran.org.uk>
Message-Id: <20090331211339.e28ebd02.freebsd@edvax.de>
In-Reply-To: <20090331192017.61958b53@gluon.draftnet>
References: <20090331025726.GA10888@thought.org>
	<20090331112122.ae329221.freebsd@edvax.de>
	<20090331192017.61958b53@gluon.draftnet>
Organization: EDVAX
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 2.4.7 (GTK+ 2.12.1; i386-portbld-freebsd7.0)
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Cc: Gary Kline <kline@thought.org>,
	FreeBSD Mailing List <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>
Subject: Re: Why??  (prog question)
X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5
Precedence: list
Reply-To: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de>
List-Id: User questions <freebsd-questions.freebsd.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions>, 
	<mailto:freebsd-questions-request@freebsd.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-questions>
List-Post: <mailto:freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>
List-Help: <mailto:freebsd-questions-request@freebsd.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions>, 
	<mailto:freebsd-questions-request@freebsd.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:13:47 -0000

On Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:20:17 +0100, Bruce Cran <bruce@cran.org.uk> wrote:
> Linux seems to have adopted sysexits.h too, which provides error codes
> such as EX_USAGE and EX_CANTCREAT.

Good to know this, thanks. I'm not a big Linux user and a much
smaller Linux programmer (read: I don't program for Linux), so
I wasn't aware that they use it, too.



> However, in FreeBSD at least the most
> common programming style is to use 1 for error and 0 for success - e.g.
> from style(9):
> 
> errx(1, "number overflowed");

This matches the definition of the two EXIT_* variables in
the standard library header file:

	% grep EXIT /usr/include/stdlib.h 
	#define EXIT_FAILURE    1
	#define EXIT_SUCCESS    0

It's no problem to use 0 and 1, but personally, I think the
"verbose reason" is better to read. :-)



And thanks for the pointer to "man 9 style", I see that I've
practiced a quite good style over the years without even
knowing it. :-)

-- 
Polytropon
>From Magdeburg, Germany
Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...