Re: libcodecs(3), take 4

[Marc Balmer <mbalmer%NetBSD.org@localhost>]

Al,

> On Sat, Oct 02, 2010 at 02:42:02PM +0900, Masao Uebayashi wrote:
>> Usually libraries don't print error messages to stderr, nor exit.
> 
> That's true for some libraries, but not for all of them.  At the same
> time, printing error messages is far superior to the practise of
> returning enumerated error values (like regexp libraries), or stacking
> them up and vomiting them up at a later stage.

libraries that do things like writing to stderr or even exit the callers
program are a pest.  I really dislike this part of the design.  As an
application programmer, I would like to be in control how to react to an
error and not have the library to make assumptions on what is the right
way to deal with a certain situation.

- Marc