lfmt(3C) Standard C Library Functions lfmt(3C)NAMElfmt - display error message in standard format and pass to logging and
monitoring services
SYNOPSIS
#include <pfmt.h>
int lfmt(FILE *stream, long flags, char *format, ... /* arg*/);
DESCRIPTION
The lfmt() function retrieves a format string from a locale-specific
message database (unless MM_NOGET is specified) and uses it for
printf(3C) style formatting of args. The output is displayed on stream.
If stream is NULL no output is displayed.
The lfmt() function encapsulates the output in the standard error mes‐
sage format (unless MM_NOSTD is specified, in which case the output is
like that of printf(). It forwards its output to the logging and moni‐
toring facility, even if stream is NULL. Optionally, lfmt() displays
the output on the console with a date and time stamp.
If the printf() format string is to be retrieved from a message data‐
base, the format argument must have the following structure:
<catalog>:<msgnum>:<defmsg>.
If MM_NOGET is specified, only the <defmsg> field must be specified.
The <catalog> field indicates the message database that contains the
localized version of the format string. This field is limited to 14
characters selected from a set of all characters values, excluding the
null character (\0) and the ASCII codes for slash (/) and colon (:).
The <msgnum> field is a positive number that indicates the index of the
string into the message database.
If the catalog does not exist in the locale (specified by the last call
to setlocale(3C) using the LC_ALL or LC_MESSAGES categories), or if
the message number is out of bound, lfmt() will attempt to retrieve the
message from the C locale. If this second retrieval fails, lfmt() uses
the <defmsg> field of the format argument.
If <catalog> is omitted, lfmt() will attempt to retrieve the string
from the default catalog specified by the last call to setcat(3C). In
this case, the format argument has the following structure:
:<msgnum>:<defmsg>.
The lfmt() function will output the message
Message not found!!\n
as the format string if <catalog> is not a valid catalog name, if no
catalog is specified (either explicitly or with setcat()), if <msgnum>
is not a valid number, or if no message could be retrieved from the
message databases and <defmsg> was omitted.
The flags argument determines the type of output (whether the format
should be interpreted as it is or be encapsulated in the standard mes‐
sage format) and the access to message catalogs to retrieve a localized
version of format.
The flags argument is composed of several groups, and can take the fol‐
lowing values (one from each group):
Output format control
MM_NOSTD Do not use the standard message format but interpret
format as a printf() format. Only catalog access con‐
trol flags, console display control and logging infor‐
mation should be specified if MM_NOSTD is used; all
other flags will be ignored.
MM_STD Output using the standard message format (default value
is 0).
Catalog access control
MM_NOGET Do not retrieve a localized version of format. In this
case, only the <defmsg> field of format is specified.
MM_GET Retrieve a localized version of format from <catalog>,
using <msgid> as the index and <defmsg> as the default
message (default value is 0).
Severity (standard message format only)
MM_HALT Generate a localized version of HALT, but donot halt
the machine.
MM_ERROR Generate a localized version of ERROR (default value
is 0).
MM_WARNING Generate a localized version of WARNING.
MM_INFO Generate a localized version of INFO.
Additional severities can be defined with the addsev(3C) function,
using number-string pairs with numeric values in the range [5-255].
The specified severity is formed by the bitwise OR operation of the
numeric value and other flags arguments.
If the severity is not defined, lfmt() uses the string SEV=N where
N is the integer severity value passed in flags.
Multiple severities passed in flags will not be detected as an
error. Any combination of severities will be summed and the numeric
value will cause the display of either a severity string (if
defined) or the string SEV=N (if undefined).
Action
MM_ACTION Specify an action message. Any severity value is
superseded and replaced by a localized version of TO
FIX.
Console display control
MM_CONSOLE Display the message to the console in addition to
the specified stream.
MM_NOCONSOLE Do not display the message to the console in addi‐
tion to the specified stream (default value is 0).
Logging information
Major classification
Identify the source of the condition. Identifiers are: MM_HARD
(hardware), MM_SOFT (software), and MM_FIRM (firmware).
Message source subclassification
Identify the type of software in which the problem is spotted.
Identifiers are: MM_APPL (application), MM_UTIL (utility), and
MM_OPSYS (operating system).
STANDARD ERROR MESSAGE FORMAT
The lfmt() function displays error messages in the following format:
label: severity: text
If no label was defined by a call to setlabel(3C), the message is dis‐
played in the format:
severity: text
If lfmt() is called twice to display an error message and a helpful
action or recovery message, the output may appear as follows:
label: severity: text
label: TO FIX: text
RETURN VALUES
Upon successful completion, lfmt() returns the number of bytes trans‐
mitted. Otherwise, it returns a negative value:
−1 Write the error to stream.
−2 Cannot log and/or display at console.
USAGE
Since lfmt() uses gettxt(3C), it is recommended that lfmt() not be
used.
EXAMPLES
Example 1 The following example
setlabel("UX:test");
lfmt(stderr, MM_ERROR|MM_CONSOLE|MM_SOFT|MM_UTIL,
"test:2:Cannot open file: %s\n", strerror(errno));
displays the message to stderr and to the console and makes it avail‐
able for logging:
UX:test: ERROR: Cannot open file: No such file or directory
Example 2 The following example
setlabel("UX:test");
lfmt(stderr, MM_INFO|MM_SOFT|MM_UTIL,
"test:23:test facility is enabled\n");
displays the message to stderr and makes it available for logging:
UX:test: INFO: test facility enabled
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
│ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│MT-Level │MT-Safe │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
SEE ALSOaddsev(3C), gettxt(3C), pfmt(3C), printf(3C), setcat(3C), setlabel(3C),
setlocale(3C), attributes(5), environ(5)SunOS 5.11 29 Dec 1996 lfmt(3C)
