NAME

       fmtmsg - display a message in the specified format on standard error and/or a system console

SYNOPSIS

       #include <fmtmsg.h>

       int fmtmsg(long classification, const char *label, int severity,
              const char *text, const char *action, const char *tag);

DESCRIPTION

       The  fmtmsg()  function  shall display messages in a specified format instead of the traditional printf()
       function.

       Based on a message's classification component,  fmtmsg()  shall  write  a  formatted  message  either  to
       standard error, to the console, or to both.

       A  formatted message consists of up to five components as defined below.  The component classification is
       not part of a message displayed to the user, but defines the  source  of  the  message  and  directs  the
       display of the formatted message.

       classification
              Contains  the  sum  of  identifying  values  constructed from the constants defined below. Any one
              identifier from a subclass may be used in combination with a single identifier  from  a  different
              subclass.   Two  or  more identifiers from the same subclass should not be used together, with the
              exception of identifiers from the display subclass. (Both display subclass identifiers may be used
              so that messages can be displayed to both standard error and the system console.)

       Major Classifications

              Identifies the source of the condition. Identifiers are: MM_HARD (hardware),  MM_SOFT  (software),
              and MM_FIRM (firmware).

       Message Source Subclassifications

              Identifies  the  type  of  software  in  which  the problem is detected.  Identifiers are: MM_APPL
              (application), MM_UTIL (utility), and MM_OPSYS (operating system).

       Display Subclassifications

              Indicates where the message is to be displayed. Identifiers are: MM_PRINT to display  the  message
              on the standard error stream, MM_CONSOLE to display the message on the system console. One or both
              identifiers may be used.

       Status Subclassifications

              Indicates  whether  the  application  can recover from the condition.  Identifiers are: MM_RECOVER
              (recoverable) and MM_NRECOV (non-recoverable).

       An additional identifier, MM_NULLMC, indicates that no  classification  component  is  supplied  for  the
       message.

       label  Identifies  the  source  of  the message. The format is two fields separated by a colon. The first
              field is up to 10 bytes, the second is up to 14 bytes.

       severity
              Indicates the seriousness of the condition. Identifiers for the levels of severity are:

       MM_HALT
              Indicates that the application has encountered a severe fault and is halting. Produces the  string
              "HALT" .

       MM_ERROR
              Indicates that the application has detected a fault. Produces the string "ERROR" .

       MM_WARNING
              Indicates a condition that is out of the ordinary, that might be a problem, and should be watched.
              Produces the string "WARNING" .

       MM_INFO
              Provides information about a condition that is not in error. Produces the string "INFO" .

       MM_NOSEV
              Indicates that no severity level is supplied for the message.

       text   Describes  the error condition that produced the message. The character string is not limited to a
              specific size. If the character string is empty, then the text produced is unspecified.

       action Describes the first step to be  taken  in  the  error-recovery  process.   The  fmtmsg()  function
              precedes  the  action  string  with  the prefix: "TO FIX:" . The action string is not limited to a
              specific size.

       tag    An identifier that references on-line documentation for the message.  Suggested usage is that  tag
              includes the label and a unique identifying number. A sample tag is "XSI:cat:146" .

       The  MSGVERB  environment  variable  (for  message  verbosity) shall determine for fmtmsg() which message
       components it is to select when writing messages to standard error. The  value  of  MSGVERB  shall  be  a
       colon-separated list of optional keywords. Valid keywords are: label, severity, text, action, and tag. If
       MSGVERB  contains  a keyword for a component and the component's value is not the component's null value,
       fmtmsg() shall include that component in the message when writing  the  message  to  standard  error.  If
       MSGVERB  does  not include a keyword for a message component, that component shall not be included in the
       display of the message.  The keywords may appear in any order. If MSGVERB is not defined, if its value is
       the null string, if its value is not of the correct format, or if it contains  keywords  other  than  the
       valid ones listed above, fmtmsg() shall select all components.

       MSGVERB  shall  determine  which  components  are  selected  for  display  to standard error. All message
       components shall be included in console messages.

RETURN VALUE

       The fmtmsg() function shall return one of the following values:

       MM_OK  The function succeeded.

       MM_NOTOK
              The function failed completely.

       MM_NOMSG
              The function was unable to generate a message on standard error, but otherwise succeeded.

       MM_NOCON
              The function was unable to generate a console message, but otherwise succeeded.

ERRORS

       None.

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES

        1. The following example of fmtmsg():

           fmtmsg(MM_PRINT, "XSI:cat", MM_ERROR, "illegal option",
           "refer to cat in user's reference manual", "XSI:cat:001")

       produces a complete message in the specified message format:

              XSI:cat: ERROR: illegal option
              TO FIX: refer to cat in user's reference manual XSI:cat:001

        2. When the environment variable MSGVERB is set as follows:

           MSGVERB=severity:text:action

       and Example 1 is used, fmtmsg() produces:

              ERROR: illegal option
              TO FIX: refer to cat in user's reference manual

APPLICATION USAGE

       One or more message components may be systematically omitted from messages generated by an application by
       using the null value of the argument for that component.

RATIONALE

       None.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

       None.

SEE ALSO

       printf() , the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, <fmtmsg.h>

COPYRIGHT

       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition,
       Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open  Group  Base
       Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
       Inc  and  The  Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and
       The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group  Standard  is  the  referee  document.  The
       original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

IEEE/The Open Group                                   2003                                             FMTMSG(P)