Intel XENIX 286 Programmers Guide (86) - Tenox.tc

Programming Commands XENIX Programming
m kstr - Creates an error message file from C source.
Syntax
mkstr [-] messagefile prefix file ...
Description
mkstr is used to create files of error messages. Its use can decrease the size of
programs with large numbers of error diagnostics. It can also reduce system overhead in
running the program as error messages do not have to be constantly swapped in and out.
mkstr will process each specified file, placing a massaged version of the input file in a
file whose name consists of the specified prefix and the original name. The optional
dash (-) causes the error messages to be replaced at the end of the specified message
file for recompiling part of a mkstred program.
A typical mkstr command line is
mkstr pistrings xx *.c
This command would cause all the error messages from the C source files in the current
directory to be placed in the file pistrings and processed copies of the source for these
files to be placed in files whose names are prefixed with xx.
To process the error messages in the· source to the message file, mkstr keys on the
string error(" in the input stream. Each time it occurs, the C string starting at the " is
placed in the message file and followed by a null character and a newline character; the
null character terminates the message so it can be easily used when retrieved, and the
newline character makes it possible to sensibly cat the error message file to see its
contents. The massaged copy of the input file then contains an lseek pointer into the
file. This pointer can be used to retrieve the message, as the following example
demonstrates. The command changes
into
error("Error on reading", a2, a3, a4);
error(m, a2, a3, a4);
where m is the seek position of the string in the resulting error message file. The
programmer must create a routine error that opens the message file, reads the string,
and prints it out. The "Example" section, which follows, illustrates such a routine.
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