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 | ### OILS-ERR-202
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315 |
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316 | <!--
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317 | Generated with:
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318 | test/ysh-runtime-errors.sh test-float-equality
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319 | -->
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320 |
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321 | ```
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322 | pp line (42.0 === x)
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323 | ^~~
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324 | [ -c flag ]:3: fatal: Equality isn't defined on Float values (OILS-ERR-202)
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325 | ```
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326 |
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327 | Floating point numbers shouldn't be tested for equality. Alternatives:
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328 |
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329 | = abs(42.0 - x) < 0.1
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330 | = floatEquals(42.0, x)
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331 |
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332 | ## Appendix
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333 |
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334 | ### Kinds of Errors from Oils
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335 |
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336 | - Runtime errors (status 1) - the shell tried to do something, but failed.
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337 | - Example: `echo hi > /does/not/exist`
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338 | - Parse errors and builtin usage errors (status 2) - input rejected, so the
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339 | shell didn't try to do anything.
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340 | - Uncaught I/O errors (status 2)
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341 | - Expression errors (status 3)
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342 | - User errors from the `error` builtin (status 10 is default)
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343 |
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344 | ### Contributors
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345 |
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346 | (If you updated this doc, feel free to add your name to the end of this list.)
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347 |
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