Error Messages (2024)

FAQs

Error Messages? ›

An error message is the information displayed when an unforeseen problem occurs, usually on a computer or other device. Modern operating systems with graphical user interfaces, often display error messages using dialog boxes.

A good error message should provide a clear explanation of why the issue occurred, some background on what happened, and reassure the reader that the problem is not terrible and can be resolved. It should also allow them to correct the issue themselves, if possible, or the option to receive assistance.

An error message should start with a general statement of the problem then give a concise description of what went wrong. Consistent use of punctuation and formatting makes errors easier to parse.

Common computer error messages and codes include the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) with various stop codes, network errors like “Limited Connectivity” or “DNS Server Not Responding,” hard drive issues such as “Disk Boot Failure,” and graphics card errors like “Display Driver Stopped Responding.”

Be Short And Meaningful. An error message should only contain necessary information. Most of the time, the user isn't willing to read a long story. Be concise and write a short description that is meaningful for the user and gives him a clear idea of the problem and how to resolve it.

Examples of error in a Sentence

I made an error in my calculations. They uncovered several errors in his report to the committee. The paper contains numerous spelling errors. horrifying cases of hospital error The shortstop was charged with an error.

Phrases used by the tech savvy to mean that a problem is caused entirely by the fault of the user include PEBKAC (an acronym for "problem exists between keyboard and chair"), PEBCAK (an alternative, but similar, acronym for "problem exists between chair and keyboard"), POBCAK (a US government/military acronym for " ...

Slips are unconscious errors, such as a typo in a search input or clicking the wrong button. In essence, the user understands how an interface works, but makes an error anyway, often because they are not giving their full attention to the task.

PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: actually means any of: You tried to read or write a file which already exists but is a folder (usually that just means delete the folder that's in the way). You tried to move or replace a file which is open in another application.

Include: the reason for the warning and the potential problem, how someone should act, and what happens if they don't act. If you don't know the reason for a warning, don't make one up – just say that something's gone wrong and offer a solution for what they can do. Avoid repeating content from the title.

How do you throw an error message? ›

The throw statement allows you to create a custom error. Technically you can throw an exception (throw an error). If you use throw together with try and catch , you can control program flow and generate custom error messages.

For example, if a user inputs, “john.newman@gmail” in an email field, an adaptive validation error message would read, “This email address is missing part of the domain (such as '.com').”, whereas if they had typed “john.newmangmail.com” the message would read, “This email address is missing the @ character”.

1. A problem: states that a problem occurred. 2. A cause: explains why the problem occurred.

An error message is the information displayed when an unforeseen problem occurs, usually on a computer or other device. Modern operating systems with graphical user interfaces, often display error messages using dialog boxes.

In addition to identifying the source of the error, you can describe how it impacts the results, or you might suggest how the experiment might be improved (but only suggest improvement sparingly—not every time you describe a source of error), for example. The error should be consistent with your results.

For example, if a user inputs, “john.newman@gmail” in an email field, an adaptive validation error message would read, “This email address is missing part of the domain (such as '.com').”, whereas if they had typed “john.newmangmail.com” the message would read, “This email address is missing the @ character”.

Mailbox is full

<user@example.com>: User is over the quota. You can try again later. This error will stop as soon as the recipient makes additional room in their mailbox (usually by removing old messages from the server), so you should probably resend your message a little later.