| 1 | ---
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| 2 | default_highlighter: oils-sh
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| 3 | ---
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| 4 |
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| 5 | Oils Error Catalog, With Hints
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| 6 | ==================
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| 7 |
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| 8 | This doc lists errors from Oils (both [OSH]($xref) and [YSH]($xref)), with
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| 9 | hints to help you fix them.
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| 10 |
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| 11 | Each error is associated with a code like `OILS-ERR-42`, a string that search
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| 12 | engines should find.
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| 13 |
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| 14 | <!--
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| 15 | Later, we could have a URL shortener, like https://oils.err/42
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| 16 | -->
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| 17 |
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| 18 | <div id="toc">
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| 19 | </div>
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| 20 |
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| 21 | ## How to Contribute
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| 22 |
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| 23 | If you see an error that you don't understand:
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| 24 |
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| 25 | 1. Ask a question on `#oil-help` on [Zulip]($xref:zulip). What's the problem,
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| 26 | and what's the solution?
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| 27 | 1. Then `grep` the source code for the confusing error message. Tag it with a
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| 28 | string like `OILS-ERR-43`, picking a new number according to the conventions
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| 29 | below.
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| 30 | 1. Add a tagged section below, with hints and explanations.
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| 31 | - Quote the error message. You may want copy and paste from the output of
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| 32 | `test/{parse,runtime,ysh-parse,ysh-runtime}-errors.sh`. Add an HTML
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| 33 | comment `<!-- -->` about that.
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| 34 | - Link to relevant sections in the [**Oils Reference**](ref/index.html).
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| 35 | 1. Optionally, add your name to the acknowledgements list at the end of this
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| 36 | doc.
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| 37 |
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| 38 | Note that error messages are **hard** to write, because a single error could
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| 39 | result from many different user **intentions**!
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| 40 |
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| 41 | ### To Preview this Doc
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| 42 |
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| 43 | Right now I use this command:
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| 44 |
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| 45 | build/doc.sh split-and-render doc/error-catalog.md
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| 46 |
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| 47 | Then paste this into your browser:
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| 48 |
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| 49 | file:///home/andy/git/oilshell/oil/_release/VERSION/doc/error-catalog.html
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| 50 |
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| 51 | (Replace with your home dir)
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| 52 |
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| 53 | ## Parse Errors - Rejected Input
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| 54 |
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| 55 | Roughly speaking, a parse error means that text input was **rejected**, so the
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| 56 | shell didn't try to do anything.
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| 57 |
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| 58 | Examples:
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| 59 |
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| 60 | echo ) # Shell syntax error
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| 61 |
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| 62 | type -z # -z flag not accepted
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| 63 |
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| 64 | These error codes start at `10`.
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| 65 |
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| 66 | ### OILS-ERR-10
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| 67 |
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| 68 | <!--
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| 69 | Generated with:
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| 70 | test/ysh-parse-errors.sh test-func-var-checker
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| 71 | -->
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| 72 |
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| 73 | ```
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| 74 | setvar x = true
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| 75 | ^
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| 76 | [ -c flag ]:3: setvar couldn't find matching 'var x' (OILS-ERR-10)
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| 77 | ```
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| 78 |
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| 79 | - Did you forget to declare the name with the [var](ref/chap-cmd-lang.html#var)
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| 80 | keyword?
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| 81 | - Did you mean to use the [setglobal](ref/chap-cmd-lang.html#setglobal)
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| 82 | keyword?
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| 83 |
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| 84 | Related help topics:
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| 85 |
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| 86 | - [setvar](ref/chap-cmd-lang.html#setvar)
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| 87 |
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| 88 | ### OILS-ERR-11
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| 89 |
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| 90 | <!--
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| 91 | Generated with:
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| 92 | test/ysh-parse-errors.sh ysh_c_strings (this may move)
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| 93 | -->
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| 94 |
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| 95 | ```
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| 96 | echo $'\z'
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| 97 | ^
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| 98 | [ -c flag ]:1: Invalid char escape in C-style string literal (OILS-ERR-11)
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| 99 | ```
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| 100 |
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| 101 | - Did you mean `$'\\z'`? Backslashes must be escaped in `$''` and `u''` and
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| 102 | `b''` strings.
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| 103 | - Did you mean something like `$'\n'`? Only valid escapes are accepted in YSH.
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| 104 |
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| 105 | Related help topics:
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| 106 |
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| 107 | - [osh-string](ref/chap-word-lang.html#osh-string) (word language)
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| 108 | - [ysh-string](ref/chap-expr-lang.html#ysh-string) (expression language)
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| 109 |
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| 110 | ### OILS-ERR-12
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| 111 |
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| 112 | <!--
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| 113 | Generated with:
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| 114 | test/ysh-parse-errors.sh ysh_dq_strings (this may move)
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| 115 | -->
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| 116 |
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| 117 | ```
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| 118 | echo "\z"
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| 119 | ^
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| 120 | [ -c flag ]:1: Invalid char escape in double quoted string (OILS-ERR-12)
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| 121 | ```
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| 122 |
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| 123 | - Did you mean `"\\z"`? Backslashes must be escaped in double-quoted strings.
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| 124 | - Did you mean something like `"\$"`? Only valid escapes are accepted in YSH.
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| 125 |
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| 126 | Related help topics:
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| 127 |
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| 128 | - [osh-string](ref/chap-word-lang.html#osh-string) (word language)
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| 129 | - [ysh-string](ref/chap-expr-lang.html#ysh-string) (expression language)
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| 130 |
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| 131 | ### OILS-ERR-13
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| 132 |
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| 133 | <!--
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| 134 | Generated with:
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| 135 | test/ysh-parse-errors.sh ysh_bare_words (this may move)
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| 136 | -->
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| 137 |
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| 138 | ```
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| 139 | echo \z
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| 140 | ^~
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| 141 | [ -c flag ]:1: Invalid char escape in unquoted word (OILS-ERR-13)
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| 142 | ```
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| 143 |
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| 144 | - Did you mean `\\z`? Backslashes must be escaped in unquoted words.
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| 145 | - Did you mean something like `\$`? Only valid escapes are accepted in YSH.
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| 146 |
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| 147 | ### OILS-ERR-14
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| 148 |
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| 149 | <!--
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| 150 | Generated with:
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| 151 | test/ysh-parse-errors.sh test-parse-dparen
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| 152 | -->
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| 153 |
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| 154 | ```
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| 155 | if ((1 > 0 && 43 > 42)); then echo yes; fi
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| 156 | ^~
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| 157 | [ -c flag ]:1: Bash (( not allowed in YSH (parse_dparen, see OILS-ERR-14 for wart)
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| 158 | ```
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| 159 |
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| 160 | Two likely causes:
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| 161 |
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| 162 | - Do you need to rewrite bash arithmetic as YSH arithmetic (which is
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| 163 | Python-like)?
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| 164 | - Do you need to work around an [unfortunate wart](warts.html#two-left-parens-should-be-separated-by-space) in YSH?
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| 165 |
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| 166 | Examples:
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| 167 |
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| 168 | if (1 > 0 and 43 > 42) { # YSH-style
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| 169 | echo yes
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| 170 | }
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| 171 |
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| 172 | if ( (x + 1) < n) { # space between ( ( avoids ((
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| 173 | echo yes
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| 174 | }
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| 175 |
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| 176 | ## Runtime Errors - Traditional Shell
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| 177 |
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| 178 | These errors may occur in shells like [bash]($xref) and [zsh]($xref).
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| 179 |
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| 180 | They're numbered starting from `100`. (If we have more than 90 parse errors,
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| 181 | we can start a new section, like `300`.)
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| 182 |
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| 183 | ### OILS-ERR-100
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| 184 |
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| 185 | <!--
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| 186 | Generated with:
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| 187 | test/runtime-errors.sh test-command-not-found
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| 188 | -->
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| 189 |
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| 190 | ```
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| 191 | findz
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| 192 | ^~~~~
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| 193 | [ -c flag ]:1: 'findz' not found (OILS-ERR-100)
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| 194 | ```
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| 195 |
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| 196 | - Did you misspell a command name?
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| 197 | - Did you misspell a shell function or a YSH `proc`?
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| 198 | - Is the file in your `$PATH`? The `PATH` variable is a colon-separated list
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| 199 | of directories, where executable files may live.
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| 200 | - Is `findz` file executable bit set? (`chmod +x`)
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| 201 |
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| 202 | ### OILS-ERR-101
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| 203 |
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| 204 | <!--
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| 205 | Generated with:
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| 206 | test/runtime-errors.sh test-assoc-array
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| 207 | -->
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| 208 |
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| 209 | Let's look at **three** instances of this error.
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| 210 |
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| 211 | ```
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| 212 | declare -A assoc; assoc[x]=1
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| 213 | ^~~~~~
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| 214 | [ -c flag ]:1: fatal: Assoc array keys must be strings: $x 'x' "$x" etc. (OILS-ERR-101)
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| 215 | ```
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| 216 |
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| 217 | - Is `x` a string? Then add quotes: `assoc['x']=1`
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| 218 | - Is `x` a variable? Then write: `assoc[$x]=1`
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| 219 |
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| 220 | ---
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| 221 |
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| 222 | Same idea here:
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| 223 |
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| 224 | ```
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| 225 | declare -A assoc; echo ${assoc[x]}
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| 226 | ^
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| 227 | [ -c flag ]:1: fatal: Assoc array keys must be strings: $x 'x' "$x" etc. (OILS-ERR-101)
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| 228 | ```
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| 229 |
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| 230 | - Is `x` a string? Then add quotes: `${assoc['x']}`
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| 231 | - Is `x` a variable? Then write: `${assoc[$x]}`
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| 232 |
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| 233 | ---
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| 234 |
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| 235 | The third example is **tricky** because `unset` takes a **string**. There's an
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| 236 | extra level of parsing, which:
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| 237 |
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| 238 | - Implies an extra level of quoting
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| 239 | - Causes OSH to display the following **nested** error message
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| 240 |
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| 241 | ```
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| 242 | assoc[k]
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| 243 | ^
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| 244 | [ dynamic LHS word at line 1 of [ -c flag ] ]:1
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| 245 |
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| 246 | declare -A assoc; key=k; unset "assoc[$key]"
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| 247 | ^
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| 248 | [ -c flag ]:1: fatal: Assoc array keys must be strings: $x 'x' "$x" etc. (OILS-ERR-101)
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| 249 | ```
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| 250 |
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| 251 | To fix it, consider using **single quotes**:
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| 252 |
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| 253 | unset 'assoc[$key]'
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| 254 |
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| 255 | ---
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| 256 |
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| 257 | - This is the error in [Parsing Bash is
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| 258 | Undecidable](https://www.oilshell.org/blog/2016/10/20.html) (2016)
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| 259 | - Also mentioned in [Known Differences](known-differences.html)
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| 260 |
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| 261 |
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| 262 | ## Runtime Errors - Oils and YSH
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| 263 |
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| 264 | These errors don't occur in shells like [bash]($xref) and [zsh]($xref).
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| 265 |
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| 266 | They may involve Python-like **expressions** and **typed data**.
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| 267 |
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| 268 | They're numbered starting from `200`.
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| 269 |
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| 270 | ### OILS-ERR-200
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| 271 |
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| 272 | <!--
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| 273 | Generated with:
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| 274 | test/runtime-errors.sh test-external_cmd_typed_args
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| 275 | -->
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| 276 |
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| 277 | ```
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| 278 | cat ("myfile")
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| 279 | ^
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| 280 | [ -c flag ]:1: fatal: 'cat' appears to be external. External commands don't accept typed args (OILS-ERR-200)
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| 281 | ```
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| 282 |
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| 283 | - Builtin commands and user-defined procs may accept [typed
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| 284 | args](ref/chap-cmd-lang.html#typed-arg), but external commands never do.
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| 285 | - Did you misspell a [YSH proc](ref/chap-cmd-lang.html#proc-def)? If a name is
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| 286 | not found, YSH assumes it's an external command.
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| 287 | - Did you forget to source a file that contains the proc or shell function you
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| 288 | wanted to run?
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| 289 |
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| 290 | ### OILS-ERR-201
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| 291 |
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| 292 | <!--
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| 293 | Generated with:
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| 294 | test/runtime-errors.sh test-arith_ops_str
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| 295 | -->
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| 296 |
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| 297 | ```
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| 298 | = "age: " + "100"
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| 299 | ^
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| 300 | [ -c flag ]:1: fatal: Binary operator expected numbers, got Str and Str (OILS-ERR-201)
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| 301 |
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| 302 | = 100 + myvar
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| 303 | ^
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| 304 | [ -c flag ]:2: fatal: Binary operator expected numbers, got Int and Str (OILS-ERR-201)
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| 305 | ```
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| 306 |
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| 307 | - Did you mean to use `++` to concatenate strings/lists?
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| 308 | - The arithmetic operators [can coerce string operands to
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| 309 | numbers](ref/chap-expr-lang.html#ysh-arith). However, if you are operating on
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| 310 | user provided input, it may be a better idea to first parse that input with
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| 311 | [`int()`](ref/chap-builtin-func.html#int) or
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| 312 | [`float()`](ref/chap-builtin-func.html#float).
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| 313 |
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| 314 | ## Appendix
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| 315 |
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| 316 | ### Kinds of Errors from Oils
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| 317 |
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| 318 | - Runtime errors (status 1) - the shell tried to do something, but failed.
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| 319 | - Example: `echo hi > /does/not/exist`
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| 320 | - Parse errors and builtin usage errors (status 2) - input rejected, so the
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| 321 | shell didn't try to do anything.
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| 322 | - Uncaught I/O errors (status 2)
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| 323 | - Expression errors (status 3)
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| 324 | - User errors from the `error` builtin (status 10 is default)
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| 325 |
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| 326 | ### Contributors
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| 327 |
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| 328 | (If you updated this doc, feel free to add your name to the end of this list.)
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| 329 |
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