GNU bug report logs - #28295
better error messages: missing closing parenthesis

Previous Next

To reply to this bug, email your comments to 28295 AT debbugs.gnu.org.

Toggle the display of automated, internal messages from the tracker.

Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Ricardo Wurmus <rekado <at> elephly.net>
To: bug-guile <at> gnu.org
Subject: better error messages: missing closing parenthesis
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2017 16:10:35 +0200

A person who does not use paredit can easily create a source file that
does not have matching parentheses.  Loading a broken file currently
produces an error like this:

--8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
$ guile -e '(hello'
ERROR: In procedure read:
ERROR: In procedure scm_i_lreadparen: #<unknown port>:1:7: end of file
--8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---

For new users it is not obvious that this error message means that a
closing parenthesis is missing.

Can the message be improved?

--
Ricardo

GPG: BCA6 89B6 3655 3801 C3C6  2150 197A 5888 235F ACAC
https://elephly.net

Message #8 received at 28295 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: ludo <at> gnu.org (Ludovic Courtès)
To: Ricardo Wurmus <rekado <at> elephly.net>
Cc: 28295 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#28295: better error messages: missing closing parenthesis
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2017 23:18:34 +0200

Ricardo Wurmus <rekado <at> elephly.net> skribis:

> A person who does not use paredit can easily create a source file that
> does not have matching parentheses.  Loading a broken file currently
> produces an error like this:
>
> $ guile -e '(hello'
> ERROR: In procedure read:
> ERROR: In procedure scm_i_lreadparen: #<unknown port>:1:7: end of file
>
> For new users it is not obvious that this error message means that a
> closing parenthesis is missing.
>
> Can the message be improved?

In Guix I worked around this with:

  https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/guix.git/commit/?id=a6e22d84450450cacc6fc36445f6ae378a5b7ad0

A bit of a hack, but it looks better:

  configuration.scm:135:1: missing closing parenthesis

In Guile proper, we could replace “end of file” with “missing closing
parenthesis”, which would already be an improvement, though we’d still
see that “scm_i_lreadparen” and maybe “ice-9” here and there.

Ludo’.

Previous Next

GNU bug tracking system
Copyright (C) 1999 Darren O. Benham, 1997,2003 nCipher Corporation Ltd, 1994-97 Ian Jackson.