Numbering compiler error messages?

[Walter Bright]

On 3/31/2014 12:47 AM, Andrea Fontana wrote:
> I disagree here.
>
> 1) If you want to google for error, you have to strip extra info (line, symbols,
> etc)

Copy-paste with a mouse. The same thing you'd do for a message id number.


> 2) It happens that you search for an error and you find error from another
> compiler.

I explained to bearophile in this thread how to do site-specific searches with 
google.


> 3) Error messages can be wrong or not well-written (they can contains typos). If
> you change their description to make them clear you have to change the pattern.
> And if you want to change the format of error messages (let's say: add
> line/column/demangling symbols/giving hints/...) you'll probably brake ide
> parsers. It's quite different if IDE just needs to read the first word of line
> or first match "DPL[0-9]{5}".

Come on, this is not rocket science.


> 4) Don't know if this is a case, but two errors can have similar descriptions
> and googling for an error could drive user to the wrong one

Yes, and you can mistype the message number, too.


> 5) Why a central map "string code" => "error message" should be harder to
> mantain than a lot of messages putted around the source code?

Because not having a map is easier to maintain than having one.