PS Error
Replacement Error System for Clipper
Nothing's more frustrating than inscrutable error messages--except possibly no error message at all! (Like after a fatal crash.) PS Error, the replacement error system for Clipper 5.0 and S '87, can bring clarity to the murk, saving time and headaches for you and your users.
PS Error is the only Clipper error system that records both runtime errors and fatal errors to a text file. A quick scan of the Error Log helps you determine what happened and why. It's a fast, reliable way to error-proof your apps--during development and beyond.
Error Log Files
When a fatal or runtime error occurs, PS Error writes all the information you specify to an Error Log, including:
- Date and time
- Memory() reports
- Program trace
- File handle status
- Screen save
- Hardware report
- DOS memory and device driver control block chain
- DOS versions and environment
- Memvar save to MEM file (Summer '87 only)
The Error Log is a great debugging tool during development. And if errors show up later, your users just send you the Error Log--or read it to you over the phone--and you can get them right back on track!
Runtime Errors Made Painless
PS Error handles some runtime errors (like division by zero) automatically--your users never see them. For trickier problems, PS Error displays the error information on the screen and gives you (or your user) a pop-up options menu:
- Trace--browse the program trace
- Files--browse a list of open database files
- Break--pass control to the BEGIN SEQUENCE...RECOVER...END construct
- Retry--retry the operation that failed
- Quit--terminate the application
The Runtime Error Handler can also be customized to pass things like the disk serial number, the user name, etc, to the error log.
Intercept Fatalities
When a fatal error occurs, PS Error's Fatal Error Handler intercepts it and writes an error log before your application terminates. It can also flash a message giving instructions.
Hardware Awareness
PS Error makes it easy to determine what hardware is active on the current system. This information can be written to the Error Log or be used in your Clipper application. The following hardware can be checked:
- Monitor
- Default drive
- Disk space
- CPU and math coprocessor type
- Number of parallel and serial ports
- Whether a mouse driver is installer (5.0 only)
- Memory (RAM, EMS, XMS, EMB)
- Number of file handles
- Stack space and underflow
- The application's command line (5.0 only)
Advanced Features
For particularly advanced error-recovery jobs, PS Error supports Local Error Handlers and Specialized Error Blocks. You might never need them, but PS Error comes through if you do.