Another gripe (was: Re: Incorrect error message, odd array error.)

[Jay R. Ashworth]

On Wed, Jun 02, 2004 at 06:02:03PM -0400, William James McEachran wrote:
> When I run the line I get the following error:
> ---------------------------------------------
> *** A filePro Error Has Occurred ***
> 
> Array Index Out of Range: dim prffac(7) -- Index: -35
> 
> Output Processing
> Line Number: 22
> 
> ai=prffac[np]*lia(11)
> ^
> Process contains a syntax error at position indicated.
> -----------------------------------------------

Clearly, the syntax error is at '[np]', not at the beginning of the line.

Could I take a moment to explain the concept of "worse than useless" in
the context of error messages that give too much detail, and it's worng?

(Yes, it could be that Bill's quoting pushed the caret left, but I
don't think so; it gets it wrong for me *almost* all the time.
*Especially* when it's mischaracterizing a runtime error (which this
clearly is) as a 'syntax' error, which this *CLEARLY* is not.)

Cheers,
-- jra
-- 
Jay R. Ashworth                                                jra at baylink.com
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