OSF DCE Application Development Guide--Core Components

OSF DCE Application Development Guide—Core Components

3.3.1 Message Output Routines

The six message output routines in this group essentially reproduce the functionality of

printf(), fprintf( ), and sprintf(), with the difference being that they operate on a

speciﬁed message rather than on a string variable. The routines can be called without

any special preparation (but see the descriptions of the three dce_pgm_ routines).

dce_fprintf()

Retrieves the message text associated with the speciﬁed message ID, and

prints the message and its arguments on the speciﬁed stream. The

message is printed without a concluding newline; if a newline is desired

at the end of the message, then it should be coded (as \n) in the message

deﬁnition in the sams ﬁle.

The routine determines the correct message catalog and, if neccessary,

opens it. If the message catalog is inaccessible, and the message exists

in an in-memory table, then this message (the default message) is

printed. If for any reason the message cannot be retrieved, an error

message is printed.

dce_printf( )

Performs a dce_fprintf( ) of the speciﬁed message to standard output.

dce_sprintf()

Retrieves the message text associated with the speciﬁed message ID, and

writes the message and its arguments into an allocated string (which

should be freed by the caller). The routine determines the correct

message catalog and, if neccessary, opens it. If the message catalog is

inaccessible, and the message exists in an in-memory table, then this

message (the default message) is printed. If for any reason the message

cannot be retrieved, an error message is printed.

For example, assume that the following message is deﬁned in an

application’s sams ﬁle:

start

code arg_msg

text "This message has exactly %d not %d argument(s)"

action "None required"

explanation "Test message with format arguments"

end

3− 10 Tandem Computers Incorporated 124245