<refentry id="errortext.element" revision='4.2'>
<?dbhtml filename="errortext.html"?>
<refentryinfo>
<pubdate>$Date$</pubdate>
<releaseinfo>$Revision$</releaseinfo>
</refentryinfo>

<refmeta>
<indexterm><primary>elements</primary>
<secondary>errortext</secondary></indexterm>
<refentrytitle>errortext</refentrytitle>
<refmiscinfo>Element</refmiscinfo>
</refmeta>
<refnamediv>
<refname>errortext</refname>
<refpurpose>&errortext.purpose;</refpurpose>
</refnamediv>

&errortext.synopsis.gen;

<refsect1 condition='ref.description'><title>Description</title>

<para><sgmltag>ErrorText</sgmltag> holds the text of an error message.</para>

<para>DocBook provides four elements for identifying the parts of an error message:
<sgmltag>ErrorCode</sgmltag>, for the alphanumeric error code (e.g., <quote>-2</quote>);
<sgmltag>ErrorName</sgmltag>, for the symbolic name of the error
(e.g., <quote>ENOENT</quote>);
<sgmltag>ErrorText</sgmltag>, for the text of the error message (e.g., <quote>file
not found</quote>); and
<sgmltag>ErrorType</sgmltag>, for the error type (e.g., <quote>recoverable</quote>).
</para>

<para>Prior to DocBook V4.2, the <sgmltag>ErrorName</sgmltag> element was the
recommended element for error <emphasis>messages</emphasis>. However, this left no
element for symoblic names, so the <sgmltag>ErrorText</sgmltag> element was added
and the semantics of the error elements adjusted slightly.
</para>

<refsect2><title>Processing expectations</title>
<para>&format.inline;
</para>
</refsect2>

&errortext.parents.gen;
&errortext.children.gen;
</refsect1>

<refsect1 condition='ref.elem.seealso'><title>See Also</title>
&errortext.seealso.gen;
</refsect1>
</refentry>

