errupdate Command

Commands Reference, Volume 2

errupdate Command

Purpose

Updates the Error Record Template Repository.

Syntax

errupdate [-c] [-f] [-h] [-n] [-p] [-q] [-yFileName] [ File ]

Description

The errupdate command adds or deletes entries in the Error Record Template Repository, or modifies the log, report, or alert characteristics of existing entries. The errupdate command reads from the specified File parameter. If the File parameter is not specified, the errupdate command reads from standard input and writes to standard output.

Each entry to be added, deleted, or modified must be preceded by an operator. The valid operators are:

`+`	Adds an entry (add operator).
`-`	Deletes an entry (delete operator).
`=`	Modifies the log, report, or alert characteristics of an entry.

Entries in the input file must be separated by a blank line.

Comments in the input file can be placed between templates and are indicated by an * (asterisk) in the first column.

If XPG/4 messages are used in error templates, a message catalog must be specified. This can be done with a line of the form:

<*!catalog-name>

For example

*!mycat.cat

The catalog specified applies to XPG/4 messages found in subsequent templates, until another "*!" catalog specifier is encountered. Also, the "*!" specifier may be overridden on an individual template basis with the "catname" keyword.

Unless a full pathname to the catalog is specified, the normal rules for retrieving a message catalog are followed. For example, in the above example, mycat.cat is assumed to be in /usr/lib/nls/msg/%L.

Entries to be added must be defined in a specific format. The general form of the error record template is:

Error Record Template
 
        + LABEL:
                         Comment=
                         Class=
                         Log=
                         Report=
                         Alert=
                         Err_Type=
                         Err_Desc=
                         Prob_Causes=
                         User_Causes=
                         User_Actions=
                         Inst_Causes=
                         Inst_Actions=
                         Fail_Causes=
                         Fail_Actions=
                         Detail_Data= <data_len>, <data_id>,
                         <data_encoding>

Additionally, a catalog name for XPG/4 messages can be specified with:

catname = <catalog>

Any template which contains XPG4 messages, the catname keyword, more than eight detail data items will be referred to as an XPG4 template. An XPG4 template is not alertable, and uses a slightly different calculation for the error id.

The error record template fields are described as follows:

Alert

Indicates that the error log entry can be processed by products that conform to the SNA Generic Alert Architecture. The Alert field can be set to True or False. If this field is omitted from the template, its value will default to False. If the Alert field is set to True, the errupdate command does not add the template unless the contents of the Err_Desc , Inst_Actions , Fail_Cause, Fail_Actions , and Detail_Data data_id fields are values recognized by the SNA Generic Alert Architecture (in publication GA27-3136). If any of the values used are not recognized by the SNA Generic Alert Architecture or the template is an XPG4 template, and the Alert field is set to True, the -p flag must be specified to add or update the template.

Class

Describes whether the error occurred in hardware or software, is an operator message, or is undetermined. One of the following class descriptors must be specified:

H	Indicates the error is a hardware failure.
O	Indicates the error is an operator message.
S	Indicates the error is a software failure.
U	Indicates the error is undetermined.

Comment

Specifies a comment to be included with the #define statement that was created for the Error ID message set. The comment must not exceed 40 characters and must be enclosed in double quotation marks. Comments longer than 40 characters are automatically truncated. The errupdate command encloses the comment in the C language comment delimiters, /* (slash, asterisk) and */ (asterisk, slash).

Detail_Data

Describes detailed data, such as detecting module names, sense data, or return codes, that are logged with the error when the error occurs. If no detailed data is logged with the error, this field can be left blank or it can display a message from the Detailed Data ID message set by specifying a data_len value of zero. The following three values are required for each Detail_Data field and must be separated by commas.

data_len

Number of bytes of data to be associated with the data_id value. The data_len value is interpreted as a decimal value.

data_id

Identifies a text message from the Detailed Data ID message set "D" to be printed in the error report in front of the detailed data. The value is interpreted as an unsigned hexadecimal up to 4 digits in length. data_id may also specify an XPG/4 style message. This is discussed later.

data_encoding

Describes how detailed data is to be printed in an error report. Valid values are:

ALPHA	The detailed data is a printable ASCII character string.
DEC	The detailed data is the binary representation of an integer value, and the decimal equivalent is to be printed.
LDEC	The detailed data is the binary representation of a 64-bit value, and the decimal equivalent is to be printed.
HEX	The detailed data is to be printed in hexadecimal.

Up to 16 Detail_Data entries may be specified per template. The amount of data logged with an error must not exceed the maximum error record length defined in the /usr/include/sys/err_rec.h file. Error data that cannot be contained in an error log entry should be saved elsewhere. Detailed data in the error log entry should contain information that can be used to correlate the error data and the error log entry.

Err_Desc

Describes the error that has occurred. An Error Description message identifier must be specified in this field. This value identifies a text message from the Error Description message set "E" to be displayed for an occurrence of the error. The value is interpreted as an unsigned hexadecimal up to 4 digits in length. The field may also specify an XPG/4 style message. This is discussed later.

Err_Type

Describes the severity of the error that has occurred. One of the following values must be specified:

PERF	Condition where the performance of the device or component has degraded to below an acceptable level (performance).
PERM	Condition that cannot be recovered from (permanent).
PEND	Condition signifying that the loss of availability of a device or component is imminent (impending).
TEMP	Condition that was recovered from after a number of unsuccessful attempts (temporary).
UNKN	Condition where it is not possible to determine the severity of the error (unknown).
INFO	Condition for informational error log entry.

Fail_Actions

Describes recommended actions for correcting an error that resulted from a failure cause. A list of up to 4 Recommended Action message identifiers separated by commas can be specified. This value identifies a text message from the Recommended Action message set "R" to be displayed for an occurrence of the error. The value is interpreted as an unsigned hexadecimal up to four digits in length. This field must be blank if the Fail_Causes field is blank.

The order in which the recommended actions are listed should be determined by the expense of the action and the probability that the action will correct the error. Always list the actions that have little or no cost (or little or no impact) on the system first. List the actions for which the probability of correcting the error is equal or nearly equal next, with the least expensive actions first. List the remaining actions in order of decreasing probability. The field may also specify an XPG/4 style message. This is discussed later.

Fail_Causes

Describes failure causes for the error that has occurred. A failure cause is defined as a condition that resulted from the failure of a resource. This field can list up to four Failure Cause message identifiers separated by commas. This value identifies a text message from the Failure Cause messages set "F" to be displayed for an occurrence of the error. The value is interpreted as an unsigned hexadecimal up to 4 digits in length. List the failure causes in order of decreasing probability. This field can be left blank if it does not apply to the error that has occurred. If this field is blank, either the User_Causes or the Inst_Causes field must not be blank. The field may also specify an XPG/4 style message. This is discussed later.

Inst_Actions

Describes recommended actions for correcting an install caused error. This field can list of up to 4 Recommended Action message identifiers separated by commas. This value identifies a text message from the Recommended Action message set "R" to be displayed for an occurrence of the error. The value is interpreted as an unsigned hexadecimal up to four digits in length. This field must be blank if the Inst_Causes field was left blank. The order in which the recommended actions are listed is determined by the expense of the action and the probability that the action will correct the error. The actions that have little or no cost or little or no impact on the system should always be listed first. Actions for which the probability of correcting the error are equal or nearly equal should be listed next, with the least expensive actions first. The remaining actions should be listed in order of decreasing probability. The field may also specify an XPG/4 style message. This is discussed later.

Inst_Causes

Describes install causes for the error that has occurred. An install cause is defined to be a condition that resulted from the initial installation or setup of a resource. A list of up to 4 Install Cause message identifiers separated by commas can be specified. This value identifies a text message from the Install Cause message set "I" to be displayed for an occurrence of the error. The value is interpreted as an unsigned hexadecimal up to four digits in length. Install causes should be listed in order of decreasing probability. This field can be left blank if it is not applicable to the error that has occurred. If this field is left blank, the User_Causes or the Fail_Causes field must be nonblank. The field may also specify an XPG/4 style message. This is discussed later.

LABEL

Specifies a unique label of up to 19 characters that must be provided for each error logging template. A string containing "#define #ERRID_label Error_ID ", where the Error_ID value is the unique ID assigned to the Error Record Template is written to standard output if the -h flag was specified at the command line.

Log

Specifies whether an error log entry should be created for this error when it occurs. The log field can be set to True or False. If this field is omitted from the template, its value will default to True. When this field is set to False, the Report and Alert fields are ignored.

Prob_Causes

Describes 1 or more probable causes for the error that has occurred. A list of up to 4 Probable Cause message identifiers separated by commas can be specified. This value identifies a text message from the Probable Cause message set "P" to be displayed for an occurrence of the error. The value is interpreted as an unsigned hexadecimal up to 4 digits in length. Probable causes should be listed in order of decreasing probability. At least one probable cause is required. The field may also specify an XPG/4 style message. This is discussed later.

Report

Specifies whether logged occurrences of this error should be reported when an error report is printed. The Report field can be set to True or False. If this field is omitted from the template, its value will default to True.

User_Actions

Describes recommended actions for correcting a user-caused error. A list of up to 4 Recommended Action message identifiers separated by commas can be specified. This value identifies a text message from the Recommended Action message set "R" to be displayed for an occurrence of the error. The value is interpreted as an unsigned hexadecimal up to 4 digits in length. This field must be left blank if the User_Causes field was left blank. The order in which the recommended actions are listed is determined by the expense of the error and the probability that the action will correct the error. The actions that have little or no cost, or little or no impact on the system should always be listed first. Actions for which the probability of correcting the error are equal or nearly equal should be listed next, with the least expensive actions first. The remaining actions should be listed in order of decreasing probability. The field may also specify an XPG/4 style message. This is discussed later.

User_Causes

Describes user causes for the error that has occurred. A user cause is defined as a condition that can be corrected without contacting a service organization. A list of up to four User Cause message identifiers separated by commas can be specified. This value identifies a text message from the User Cause message set "U" to be displayed for an occurrence of the error. The value is interpreted as an unsigned hexadecimal up to four digits in length. User causes should be listed in order of decreasing probability. This field can be left blank if it is not applicable to the error that has occurred. If this field is left blank, the Inst_Causes or the Fail_Causes field must be nonblank. The field may also specify an XPG/4 style message. This is discussed later.

The catname is used to specify a message catalog to be used for retrieving XPG/4 messages for the current template. This will override a catalog specified with a previous "*!" catalog specifier. Any template containing XPG/4 messages must have a catalog specified either with catname or "*!". The catalog name must be enclosed in quotes. Unless a full pathname to the catalog is specified, the normal rules for retrieving a message catalog are followed.

For example, if

catname = "mycat.cat"

is specified, mycat.cat is assumed to be in /usr/lib/nls/msg/%L.

The Error Description, Probable Cause, User Cause, Install Cause, Failure Cause, Recommended Actions, and Detailed Data ID messages must be either an error message identifier maintained in the error log message catalog, or an XPG/4 message.

An error message identifier consists of up to 4 hexadecimal digits, without any leading "0x". For example, 1234 or ABCD. The errmsg -w command can be used to print these messages along with their identifiers. The errmsg command can be used to add new messages.

An XPG/4 message is specified using the form

{<set>, <number>, <"default text">}

The set, number, and default text are all required. Symbolic message references are not supported. Also, templates which contain XPG/4 messages are not alertable.

A message catalog must be specified for XPG/4 messages. This is done with either the "*!" catalog specifier, or the catname keyword.

Error logging does not support all the features of normal error messaging. Strings used in error log templates must conform to some restrictions.

Variable substitution is not supported. For example, the strings may not be used as format specifyers to print values. The strings may only contain the formatting characters "\t" and "\n".
The default text strings may not be longer than 1 kb, 1024 bytes.
It must be noted that the error description is printed in a 40 character area on the non-detailed reports. No string formatting is done for these reports, and only the first 40 characters will be printed.
The strings should not contain a trailing new line. This is supplied by errpt.

The Error Description, Probable Cause, User Cause, Install Cause, Failure Cause, Recommended Actions, and Detailed Data ID messages are maintained in the error log message catalog. The errmsg -w command can be used to print the messages along with their identifiers. The errmsg command can be used to add new messages.

For each entry added, the errupdate command assigns a unique Error ID that is written to the header file specified by File.h (where the File parameter is the name of the errupdate command input file). If the errupdate command is reading from standard input, the #define statement is written to standard output. The values supplied for the Class , Err_Desc , Err_Type , Fail_Actions , Fail_Causes , Inst_Actions , Inst_Causes , Prob_Causes , User_Actions , User_Causes fields, and the Detail_Data . data_id value, are used to calculate the unique Error ID for that error. For XPG4 templates, the Label is also included in the calculation.

The contents of the Log , Report , and Alert fields are not included in the calculation of the unique Error ID; therefore, the log, report, and alert characteristics of a particular error can be modified at any time in the error entry definition stored in the Error Record Template Repository using the errupdate command. Also note that the data_len and data_encode portions of the detail data field are not used.

The errupdate command also creates an undo file in the current directory named File.undo. If the errupdate command is reading from standard input, the undo file is written to errids.undo file. The undo file contains inputs to the errupdate command to undo changes the errupdate command has made.

The errpt -t command can be used to view the contents of the Error Record Template Repository. The templates are processed and printed as they would appear in an actual error report.

Flags

-c	Checks the input file for syntax errors.
-f	Forces all templates to be updated, including any templates with error ids identical to ones in the input templates
-h	Creates a `#define` statement for each Error ID assigned to an error template. If a file name was supplied on the command line, the header file name will be that supplied file name appended with .h. Otherwise, the `#define` statements are written to standard output.
-n	Suppresses the addition of the error record template to the Error Record Template Repository.
-p	Adds or updates a template with the `Alert` field set to True that contains Error Description, Probable Cause, User Cause, User Action, Install Cause, Install Action, Failure Cause, Fail Action, or Detailed Data data id values that are not recognized by the SNA Generic Alert Architecture (in publication GA27-3136). The errupdate command will not let you add a template with these characteristics unless you specify this flag.
-q	Suppresses the creation of an undo file.
-y FileName	Uses the error record template file specified by the FileName parameter.

Security

Access Control: Only the root user can run this command.

Examples

To add an entry, define the entry in the input file in the following manner:

+ CDROM_ERR22:
        Comment=        "Temporary CDROM read error"
        Class=  H
        Log=            True
        Report= True
        Alert=          False
        Err_Type=       TEMP
        Err_Desc=       E801
        Prob_Causes=    5004
        Fail_Causes=    E800, 6312
        Fail_Actions=   1601, 0000
        Detail_Data=    120, 11, HEX
        Detail_Data=    4, 8058, DEC
        Detail_Data=    4, 8059, DEC

To enter the data,

errupdate <input file>

To modify the log, report, and alert characteristics of entry 99999999 , specify the modify operator = (equal sign) followed by the unique Error ID, and the new characteristics for the entry to be modified:
```
errupdate
 =99999999:
 Report = False
 Log = True
```
To delete entry 99999999 from the Error Record Template Repository, specify the delete operator - (minus sign) followed by the unique Error ID of the entry to be deleted:
```
errupdate
 -99999999:
```

To override the XPG/4 message catalog specified for this input stream with "*!", use the "catname" keyword.

*!mycat.cat

* mycat.cat is used for all XPG/4 messages from now on.

* except for this one:

+ CDROM_ERR23:
         Comment=        "Temporary CDROM read error"
         catname= "othercat.cat"
         Class=  H
         Log=            True
         Report= True
         Alert=          False
         Err_Type=       TEMP
         Err_Desc=       {1, 1, "CD ROM is broken"}
         Prob_Causes=    {2, 1, "cause 1"},\
                        {2, 2, "Cause 2"}
         Fail_Causes=    E800, 6312
         Fail_Actions=   1601, 0000
         Detail_Data=    120, 11, HEX
         Detail_Data=    4, 8058, DEC
         Detail_Data=    4, 8059, DEC

The catalog othercat.cat will be used for the CDROM_ERR23 template only.

Note: A template may contain both XPG/4 messages and the traditional error ids or codepoints.

Files

/usr/include/sys/errids.h	Contains the header file that contains Error IDs.
/usr/include/sys/err_rec.h	Contains the header file that contains structures for logging errors.

Related Information

The errclear command, errdead command, errinstall command, errlogger command, errmsg command, errpt command, errstop command.

The errdemon daemon.

The errsave kernel service.

The errlog subroutine.

Error Logging Overview in AIX Version 4.3 Problem Solving Guide and Reference.