Re^2: RFC: A new module to help avoid running multiple instances of the same script (via cron, for example)

++merlyn. I followed the highlander link and spotted this in the code listing at line 4:

open HIGHLANDER, ">>/tmp/renew.cgi.highlander" or die "Cannot open hig
+hlander: $!";
[download]

I never (ever!) thought I would have cause to correct merlyn, but this contains one of my pet peeves, error messages which don't tell you what's happening, e.g.

Cannot open highlander: No disk space at ...
Cannot open highlander: Permission denied at ...
[download]

Analyzing any problem requires the support person to read the code to discover the problem filename. They don't want to do that (and in a compiled language they can't), they just want to fix the problem. Suggest this:

my $highlander = '/tmp/renew.cgi.highlander';
open HIGHLANDER, ">>$highlander" or die "Cannot open $highlander: $!";
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Cannot open /tmp/renew.cgi.highlander: No disk space at ...
Cannot open /tmp/renew.cgi.highlander: Permission denied at ...
[download]

Comment on Re^2: RFC: A new module to help avoid running multiple instances of the same script (via cron, for example) Select or Download Code

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Re^3: RFC: A new module to help avoid running multiple instances of the same script (via cron, for example) by Arunbear (Prior) on Dec 05, 2009 at 21:47 UTC
autodie both adds the file name to the error message and saves you from having to do the `or die ...;` dance: `# open.pl use strict; use warnings; use autodie; open HIGHLANDER, ">>/root/renew.cgi.highlander";` [download] when run (as non a root user), gives: `+% perl open.pl Can't open '>>/root/renew.cgi.highlander' for appending: 'Permission d +enied' at open.pl line 6 +%` [download]	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^3: RFC: A new module to help avoid running multiple instances of the same script (via cron, for example) by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Dec 05, 2009 at 13:20 UTC
Wouldn't it be nice if the $! error message came with the filename already embedded? Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error. "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice. "I'd rather go naked than blow up my ass"	[reply]
Re^4: RFC: A new module to help avoid running multiple instances of the same script (via cron, for example) by djp (Hermit) on Dec 06, 2009 at 11:14 UTC
How could that be done? $! is associated with errno or equivalent, but not necessarily with a file.	[reply]
Re^5: RFC: A new module to help avoid running multiple instances of the same script (via cron, for example) by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Dec 06, 2009 at 11:55 UTC
I guess what you're saying here is that the low-level routines that detect the errors, only set the numeric part of $!, and that the text part is derived (looked-up) from that when asked, at which point the filename used in the failing system request is no longer available. But when a warn or die is called, it is able to tell us the line number of the last file read, and this is considered useful enough information to be added by default. A similar mechanism--presumably a global variabe ($.)--could be used to remember the pathname provided to the last open attempt, and used to provide that information when $! is interpolated. Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error. "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice. "I'd rather go naked than blow up my ass"	[reply]
Re^3: RFC: A new module to help avoid running multiple instances of the same script (via cron, for example) by merlyn (Sage) on Dec 05, 2009 at 13:14 UTC
That code was written pretty early. The suggestion you're making is one I started preaching a bit later. -- Randal L. Schwartz, Perl hacker The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.	[reply]
Re^4: RFC: A new module to help avoid running multiple instances of the same script (via cron, for example) by djp (Hermit) on Dec 06, 2009 at 08:41 UTC
Excellent, I didn't think I could put one over you.	[reply]


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