Home
JAQForum Ver 24.01
Log In or Join  
Active Topics
Local Time 01:48 17 Nov 2025 Privacy Policy
Jump to

Notice. New forum software under development. It's going to miss a few functions and look a bit ugly for a while, but I'm working on it full time now as the old forum was too unstable. Couple days, all good. If you notice any issues, please contact me.

Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Error messages in MMBASIC

Author Message
envirotronics
Newbie

Joined: 18/02/2016
Location: Australia
Posts: 23
Posted: 05:15am 21 Dec 2020
Copy link to clipboard 
Print this post

I am new to MMBASIC
Is there a dictionary of error messages explaining the meaning of each message or is it a case of best guess?
 
Geoffg

Guru

Joined: 06/06/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 3308
Posted: 08:39am 21 Dec 2020
Copy link to clipboard 
Print this post

Sorry, as far as I know no one has ever built a glossary.  The error text is meant to be self explanatory (and short).

Geoff
Edited 2020-12-21 18:42 by Geoffg
Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net
 
CaptainBoing

Guru

Joined: 07/09/2016
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 2171
Posted: 10:14am 21 Dec 2020
Copy link to clipboard 
Print this post

Error messages *usually* give a good indication but it's simply not possible to capture and document every permutation. Occasionally the error message can send you in the wrong direction because there are only so many scenarios that can be trapped. There are many little things that happen under the bonnet even in the simplest of statements that we aren't really privy to (that's why we use hi-level languages so we don't have to mess around with all that stuff).

An example of misdirection from a while back where I had an "out of memory" error while defining a variable. But it wasn't the variable itself that was the problem, it was a CASE statement (constructs use a bit of stack and I was right on the limit). It sent me off chasing a variable problem when it was really my code was too complex - too deep in lots of functions and loops and MMBasic simply ran out of stack space and burped out this memory at the point of a LOCAL... I put 2+2 together and came up with 17; yes I had run out of stack but it was nothing to do with the variable. It will come, I promise you and you have a huge crowd here who are very friendly and centuries of experience and knowledge.

A definitive guide would exaggerate misleading diagnostics because it would lead you away from thinking outside the box. Error messages are good but when they don't seem to make sense to have to "free reign" it a bit - and that's not the sort of thing that can be written down - it has to be learned and "get the knack" for it... a bit like English pronunciation or French gendering.
 
Print this page


To reply to this topic, you need to log in.

The Back Shed's forum code is written, and hosted, in Australia.
© JAQ Software 2025