.\" $OpenBSD: err.3,v 1.4 1997/08/08 23:14:51 millert Exp $ .\" .\" Copyright (c) 1993 .\" The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. .\" .\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without .\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions .\" are met: .\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. .\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the .\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. .\" 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software .\" must display the following acknowledgement: .\" This product includes software developed by the University of .\" California, Berkeley and its contributors. .\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors .\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software .\" without specific prior written permission. .\" .\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND .\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE .\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE .\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE .\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL .\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS .\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) .\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT .\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY .\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF .\" SUCH DAMAGE. .\" .Dd August, 8, 1997 .Dt ERR 3 .Os BSD 4 .Sh NAME .Nm err , .Nm verr , .Nm errx , .Nm verrx , .Nm warn , .Nm vwarn , .Nm warnx , .Nm vwarnx .Nd formatted error messages .Sh SYNOPSIS .Fd #include .Ft void .Fn err "int eval" "const char *fmt" "..." .Ft void .Fn verr "int eval" "const char *fmt" "va_list args" .Ft void .Fn errx "int eval" "const char *fmt" "..." .Ft void .Fn verrx "int eval" "const char *fmt" "va_list args" .Ft void .Fn warn "const char *fmt" "..." .Ft void .Fn vwarn "const char *fmt" "va_list args" .Ft void .Fn warnx "const char *fmt" "..." .Ft void .Fn vwarnx "const char *fmt" "va_list args" .Sh DESCRIPTION The .Fn err and .Fn warn family of functions display a formatted error message on the standard error output. In all cases, the last component of the program name, a colon character, and a space are output. If the .Va fmt argument is not NULL, the formatted error message, a colon character, and a space are output. The .Va fmt argument (and associated arguments) may be any format allowed by .Xr printf 3 or a simple string. .Pp In the case of the .Fn err , .Fn verr , .Fn warn , and .Fn vwarn functions only, the error message string affiliated with the current value of the global variable .Va errno is output. In all cases, the output is followed by a newline character. .Pp The .Fn err , .Fn verr , .Fn errx , and .Fn verrx functions do not return, but exit with the value of the argument .Fa eval . .Sh EXAMPLES Display the current .Va errno information string and exit: .Bd -literal -offset indent if ((p = malloc(size)) == NULL) err(1, NULL); if ((fd = open(file_name, O_RDONLY, 0)) == -1) err(1, file_name); .Ed .Pp Display an error message and exit: .Bd -literal -offset indent if (tm.tm_hour < START_TIME) errx(1, "too early, wait until %s", start_time_string); .Ed .Pp Warn of an error: .Bd -literal -offset indent if ((fd = open(raw_device, O_RDONLY, 0)) == -1) warnx("%s: %s: trying the block device", raw_device, strerror(errno)); if ((fd = open(block_device, O_RDONLY, 0)) == -1) err(1, "%s", block_device); .Ed .Sh SEE ALSO .Xr exit 3 , .Xr perror 3 , .Xr printf 3 , .Xr strerror 3 .Sh HISTORY The .Fn err and .Fn warn functions first appeared in .Bx 4.4 .