Error Reporting Structure with Macro Population
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current error reporting in software applications is inadequate as simple error codes fail to provide sufficient information about the exact location of errors, making debugging inefficient and time-consuming, especially in scenarios like time-outs where errors can occur at various points in the software.
Innovation Solution
A novel error reporting mechanism that includes error reporting structures to store pertinent information such as file name, function name, and line number, with the use of macros to populate these structures, allowing for comprehensive error reporting by passing a pointer to the error reporting structure as a parameter to functions and defining the structure's size and content based on compiler flags.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If simple error codes are used for error reporting, then the error reporting system is simple and easy to implement, but the error location information is insufficient making debugging inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The error reporting system is segmented into multiple fields within an error reporting structure, including error code, file name, function name, and line number. Each field captures a specific aspect of error information, allowing comprehensive error tracking while maintaining organized and manageable code structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The error reporting system transitions from one-dimensional error codes to multi-dimensional error information by incorporating file name, function name, and line number dimensions. This dimensional expansion provides comprehensive error location context without significantly increasing system complexity.
2Measurement precision
If detailed error information is collected including file name, function name, and line number, then error location precision is improved, but the complexity of the error reporting system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The error reporting structure is pre-defined with all necessary fields (error code, file_name, function_name, line_number) before error occurrence. This preliminary setup eliminates the need for complex real-time information gathering and processing during error handling, reducing system complexity while maintaining high precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The error reporting mechanism automatically captures detailed location information (file name, function name, line number) without requiring manual intervention or complex processing. The system serves itself by autonomously populating the error reporting structure with precise error context.
3Loss of information
If error reporting structures are passed as parameters to functions, then error information completeness is improved, but the function parameter complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The error reporting structure serves multiple functions: it stores error codes, file names, function names, and line numbers in a single unified parameter. This multi-functionality allows comprehensive error information transmission without requiring multiple separate parameters, reducing overall parameter complexity.
4Productivity
If comprehensive error information is stored in error reporting structures, then debugging efficiency is improved, but memory usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The error reporting structure is designed as a lightweight, temporary data structure used only during error reporting. It stores essential error location information in compact fields (file_name, function_name, line_number) without excessive overhead, providing high debugging efficiency while consuming minimal memory resources.
Data Source
AI summary
A novel method of reporting pertinent information in the event of an error during the execution of a software application is disclosed. The software application includes one or more error reporting structures, which are used to store the pertinent information for each error that is encountered. The pertinent information may include, for example, the file name, the function name, the line number within the function, and others. In some embodiments, a macro is used to populate one or more fields of the error reporting structure. Various methods of identifying the location of the error reporting structure are also disclosed.