Some of these messages are generic. Spots that vary are denoted with a %s,
just as in a printf format. Note that some messages start with a %s!
-The symbols C<"%-?@> sort before the letters, while C<[> and C<\> sort after.
+The symbols C<"%(-?@> sort before the letters, while C<[> and C<\> sort after.
=over 4
=item "my" variable %s masks earlier declaration in same scope
-(S) A lexical variable has been redeclared in the same scope, effectively
+(W) A lexical variable has been redeclared in the same scope, effectively
eliminating all access to the previous instance. This is almost always
a typographical error. Note that the earlier variable will still exist
until the end of the scope or until all closure referents to it are
instead of Perl. Check the #! line, or manually feed your script
into Perl yourself.
+=item (Missing semicolon on previous line?)
+
+(S) This is an educated guess made in conjunction with the message "%s
+found where operator expected". Don't automatically put a semicolon on
+the previous line just because you saw this message.
+
=item B<-P> not allowed for setuid/setgid script
(F) The script would have to be opened by the C preprocessor by name,
(F) Perl can't peek at the stdio buffer of filehandles when it doesn't
know about your kind of stdio. You'll have to use a filename instead.
+=item C<-p> destination: %s
+
+(F) An error occurred during the implicit output invoked by the C<-p>
+command-line switch. (This output goes to STDOUT unless you've
+redirected it with select().)
+
=item 500 Server error
See Server error.
=item Applying %s to %s will act on scalar(%s)
-(W) The pattern match (//), substitution (s///), and translation (tr///)
+(W) The pattern match (//), substitution (s///), and transliteration (tr///)
operators work on scalar values. If you apply one of them to an array
or a hash, it will convert the array or hash to a scalar value -- the
length of an array, or the population info of a hash -- and then work on
SvREFCNT_inc() was called too few times, or that the SV was mortalized
when it shouldn't have been, or that memory has been corrupted.
+=item Attempt to pack pointer to temporary value
+
+(W) You tried to pass a temporary value (like the result of a
+function, or a computed expression) to the "p" pack() template. This
+means the result contains a pointer to a location that could become
+invalid anytime, even before the end of the current statement. Use
+literals or global values as arguments to the "p" pack() template to
+avoid this warning.
+
=item Attempt to use reference as lvalue in substr
(W) You supplied a reference as the first argument to substr() used
subroutine identifier, in curly braces or to the left of the "=>" symbol.
Perhaps you need to predeclare a subroutine?
+=item Bareword "%s" refers to nonexistent package
+
+(W) You used a qualified bareword of the form C<Foo::>, but
+the compiler saw no other uses of that namespace before that point.
+Perhaps you need to predeclare a package?
+
=item BEGIN failed--compilation aborted
(F) An untrapped exception was raised while executing a BEGIN subroutine.
occurs if you tried to jump out of a sort() block or subroutine, which
is a no-no. See L<perlfunc/goto>.
+=item Can't "goto" into the middle of a foreach loop
+
+(F) A "goto" statement was executed to jump into the middle of a
+foreach loop. You can't get there from here. See L<perlfunc/goto>.
+
=item Can't "last" outside a block
(F) A "last" statement was executed to break out of the current block,
=item Can't execute %s
+(F) You used the B<-S> switch, but the copies of the script to execute found
+in the PATH did not have correct permissions.
+
+=item Can't find %s on PATH, '.' not in PATH
+
+(F) You used the B<-S> switch, but the script to execute could not be found
+in the PATH, or at least not with the correct permissions. The script
+exists in the current directory, but PATH prohibits running it.
+
+=item Can't find %s on PATH
+
(F) You used the B<-S> switch, but the script to execute could not be found
-in the PATH, or at least not with the correct permissions.
+in the PATH.
=item Can't find label %s
the closing delimiter was omitted. Because bracketed quotes count nesting
levels, the following is missing its final parenthesis:
- print q(The character '(' starts a side comment.)
+ print q(The character '(' starts a side comment.);
+
+If you're getting this error from a here-document, you may have
+included unseen whitespace before or after your closing tag. A good
+programmer's editor will have a way to help you find these characters.
=item Can't fork
you should be calling it out of only an AUTOLOAD routine anyway. See
L<perlfunc/goto>.
-=item Can't localize a reference
+=item Can't goto subroutine from an eval-string
+
+(F) The "goto subroutine" call can't be used to jump out of an eval "string".
+(You can use it to jump out of an eval {BLOCK}, but you probably don't want to.)
+
+=item Can't localize through a reference
-(F) You said something like C<local $$ref>, which is not allowed because
-the compiler can't determine whether $ref will end up pointing to anything
-with a symbol table entry, and a symbol table entry is necessary to
-do a local.
+(F) You said something like C<local $$ref>, which Perl can't currently
+handle, because when it goes to restore the old value of whatever $ref
+pointed to after the scope of the local() is finished, it can't be
+sure that $ref will still be a reference.
=item Can't localize lexical variable %s
localize a package variable of the same name, qualify it with the
package name.
+=item Can't locate auto/%s.al in @INC
+
+(F) A function (or method) was called in a package which allows autoload,
+but there is no function to autoload. Most probable causes are a misprint
+in a function/method name or a failure to C<AutoSplit> the file, say, by
+doing C<make install>.
+
=item Can't locate %s in @INC
(F) You said to do (or require, or use) a file that couldn't be found
(W) The @ISA array contained the name of another package that doesn't seem
to exist.
-=item Can't mktemp()
+=item Can't make list assignment to \%ENV on this system
-(F) The mktemp() routine failed for some reason while trying to process
-a B<-e> switch. Maybe your /tmp partition is full, or clobbered.
+(F) List assignment to %ENV is not supported on some systems, notably VMS.
=item Can't modify %s in %s
=item Can't open %s: %s
-(S) An inplace edit couldn't open the original file for the indicated reason.
-Usually this is because you don't have read permission for the file.
+(S) The implicit opening of a file through use of the C<E<lt>E<gt>>
+filehandle, either implicitly under the C<-n> or C<-p> command-line
+switches, or explicitly, failed for the indicated reason. Usually this
+is because you don't have read permission for a file which you named
+on the command line.
=item Can't open bidirectional pipe
(F) Perl optimizes the internal handling of sort subroutines and keeps
pointers into them. You tried to redefine one such sort subroutine when it
-was currently active, which is not allowed. If you really wanted to do
-this, you should wrap the subroutine with another one that does nothing
-but call it, and use the wrapper as the sort subroutine.
+was currently active, which is not allowed. If you really want to do
+this, you should write C<sort { &func } @x> instead of C<sort func @x>.
=item Can't rename %s to %s: %s, skipping file
=item Can't take log of %g
-(F) Logarithms are defined on only positive real numbers.
+(F) For ordinary real numbers, you can't take the logarithm of a
+negative number or zero. There's a Math::Complex package that comes
+standard with Perl, though, if you really want to do that for
+the negative numbers.
=item Can't take sqrt of %g
(F) For ordinary real numbers, you can't take the square root of a
-negative number. There's a Complex package available for Perl, though,
-if you really want to do that.
+negative number. There's a Math::Complex package that comes standard
+with Perl, though, if you really want to do that.
=item Can't undef active subroutine
of upgradability. Upgrading to undef indicates an error in the
code calling sv_upgrade.
+=item Can't use %%! because Errno.pm is not available
+
+(F) The first time the %! hash is used, perl automatically loads the
+Errno.pm module. The Errno module is expected to tie the %! hash to
+provide symbolic names for C<$!> errno values.
+
=item Can't use "my %s" in sort comparison
(F) The global variables $a and $b are reserved for sort comparisons.
subscript. But to the left of the brackets was an expression that
didn't look like an array reference, or anything else subscriptable.
-=item Can't write to temp file for B<-e>: %s
-
-(F) The write routine failed for some reason while trying to process
-a B<-e> switch. Maybe your /tmp partition is full, or clobbered.
-
=item Can't x= to read-only value
(F) You tried to repeat a constant value (often the undefined value) with
an assignment operator, which implies modifying the value itself.
Perhaps you need to copy the value to a temporary, and repeat that.
-=item Cannot open temporary file
+=item Cannot find an opnumber for "%s"
-(F) The create routine failed for some reason while trying to process
-a B<-e> switch. Maybe your /tmp partition is full, or clobbered.
+(F) A string of a form C<CORE::word> was given to prototype(), but
+there is no builtin with the name C<word>.
=item Cannot resolve method `%s' overloading `%s' in package `%s'
opposed to a subroutine reference): no such method callable via the
package. If method name is C<???>, this is an internal error.
+=item Character class syntax [. .] is reserved for future extensions
+
+(W) Within regular expression character classes ([]) the syntax beginning
+with "[." and ending with ".]" is reserved for future extensions.
+If you need to represent those character sequences inside a regular
+expression character class, just quote the square brackets with the
+backslash: "\[." and ".\]".
+
+=item Character class syntax [: :] is reserved for future extensions
+
+(W) Within regular expression character classes ([]) the syntax beginning
+with "[:" and ending with ":]" is reserved for future extensions.
+If you need to represent those character sequences inside a regular
+expression character class, just quote the square brackets with the
+backslash: "\[:" and ":\]".
+
+=item Character class syntax [= =] is reserved for future extensions
+
+(W) Within regular expression character classes ([]) the syntax
+beginning with "[=" and ending with "=]" is reserved for future extensions.
+If you need to represent those character sequences inside a regular
+expression character class, just quote the square brackets with the
+backslash: "\[=" and "=\]".
+
=item chmod: mode argument is missing initial 0
(W) A novice will sometimes say
=item Deep recursion on subroutine "%s"
(W) This subroutine has called itself (directly or indirectly) 100
-times than it has returned. This probably indicates an infinite
+times more than it has returned. This probably indicates an infinite
recursion, unless you're writing strange benchmark programs, in which
case it indicates something else.
(W) You are exiting a substitution by unconventional means, such as
a return, a goto, or a loop control statement.
+=item Explicit blessing to '' (assuming package main)
+
+(W) You are blessing a reference to a zero length string. This has
+the effect of blessing the reference into the package main. This is
+usually not what you want. Consider providing a default target
+package, e.g. bless($ref, $p or 'MyPackage');
+
=item Fatal VMS error at %s, line %d
(P) An error peculiar to VMS. Something untoward happened in a VMS system
(W) You may have tried to use an 8 or 9 in a octal number. Interpretation
of the octal number stopped before the 8 or 9.
+=item Illegal hex digit ignored
+
+(W) You may have tried to use a character other than 0 - 9 or A - F in a
+hexadecimal number. Interpretation of the hexadecimal number stopped
+before the illegal character.
+
=item Illegal switch in PERL5OPT: %s
(X) The PERL5OPT environment variable may only be used to set the
=item Invalid type in pack: '%s'
(F) The given character is not a valid pack type. See L<perlfunc/pack>.
+(W) The given character is not a valid pack type but used to be silently
+ignored.
=item Invalid type in unpack: '%s'
(F) The given character is not a valid unpack type. See L<perlfunc/unpack>.
+(W) The given character is not a valid unpack type but used to be silently
+ignored.
=item ioctl is not implemented
As a general rule, you'll find it's missing near the place you were last
editing.
-=item Missing semicolon on previous line?
-
-(S) This is an educated guess made in conjunction with the message "%s
-found where operator expected". Don't automatically put a semicolon on
-the previous line just because you saw this message.
-
=item Modification of a read-only value attempted
(F) You tried, directly or indirectly, to change the value of a
Perl are likely to eliminate this arbitrary limitation. In the meantime,
try using scientific notation (e.g. "1e6" instead of "1_000_000").
-=item Odd number of elements in hash list
+=item Odd number of elements in hash assignment
-(S) You specified an odd number of elements to a hash list, which is odd,
-because hash lists come in key/value pairs.
+(S) You specified an odd number of elements to initialize a hash, which
+is odd, because hashes come in key/value pairs.
=item Offset outside string
(P) The lexer got into a bad state while processing a case modifier.
-=item Pareneses missing around "%s" list
+=item Parentheses missing around "%s" list
(W) You said something like
(W) qw() lists contain items separated by whitespace; as with literal
strings, comment characters are not ignored, but are instead treated
as literal data. (You may have used different delimiters than the
-exclamation marks parentheses shown here; braces are also frequently
-used.)
+parentheses shown here; braces are also frequently used.)
You probably wrote something like this:
(F) More than 100 levels of inheritance were used. Probably indicates
an unintended loop in your inheritance hierarchy.
+=item Reference found where even-sized list expected
+
+(W) You gave a single reference where Perl was expecting a list with
+an even number of elements (for assignment to a hash). This
+usually means that you used the anon hash constructor when you meant
+to use parens. In any case, a hash requires key/value B<pairs>.
+
+ %hash = { one => 1, two => 2, }; # WRONG
+ %hash = [ qw/ an anon array / ]; # WRONG
+ %hash = ( one => 1, two => 2, ); # right
+ %hash = qw( one 1 two 2 ); # also fine
+
=item Reference miscount in sv_replace()
(W) The internal sv_replace() function was handed a new SV with a
reference count of other than 1.
+=item regexp *+ operand could be empty
+
+(F) The part of the regexp subject to either the * or + quantifier
+could match an empty string.
+
=item regexp memory corruption
(P) The regular expression engine got confused by what the regular
(F) The lexer couldn't find the final delimiter of a // or m{}
construct. Remember that bracketing delimiters count nesting level.
+Missing the leading C<$> from a variable C<$m> may cause this error.
=item %sseek() on unopened file
(W) The filehandle you're sending to got itself closed sometime before now.
Check your logic flow.
+=item Sequence (? incomplete
+
+(F) A regular expression ended with an incomplete extension (?.
+See L<perlre>.
+
=item Sequence (?#... not terminated
(F) A regular expression comment must be terminated by a closing
=item setruid() not implemented
-(F) You tried to assign to C<$<lt>>, and your operating system doesn't support
+(F) You tried to assign to C<$E<lt>>, and your operating system doesn't support
the setruid() system call (or equivalent), or at least Configure didn't
think so.
(F) The lexer couldn't find the interior delimiter of a s/// or s{}{}
construct. Remember that bracketing delimiters count nesting level.
+Missing the leading C<$> from variable C<$s> may cause this error.
=item Substitution replacement not terminated
(F) The lexer couldn't find the final delimiter of a s/// or s{}{}
construct. Remember that bracketing delimiters count nesting level.
+Missing the leading C<$> from variable C<$s> may cause this error.
=item substr outside of string
-(W) You tried to reference a substr() that pointed outside of a string.
-That is, the absolute value of the offset was larger than the length of
-the string. See L<perlfunc/substr>.
+(S),(W) You tried to reference a substr() that pointed outside of a
+string. That is, the absolute value of the offset was larger than the
+length of the string. See L<perlfunc/substr>. This warning is
+mandatory if substr is used in an lvalue context (as the left hand side
+of an assignment or as a subroutine argument for example).
=item suidperl is no longer needed since %s
(F) The regular expression ends with an unbackslashed backslash. Backslash
it. See L<perlre>.
-=item Translation pattern not terminated
+=item Transliteration pattern not terminated
(F) The lexer couldn't find the interior delimiter of a tr/// or tr[][]
-construct.
+or y/// or y[][] construct. Missing the leading C<$> from variables
+C<$tr> or C<$y> may cause this error.
-=item Translation replacement not terminated
+=item Transliteration replacement not terminated
(F) The lexer couldn't find the final delimiter of a tr/// or tr[][]
construct.
(F) The format indicated doesn't seem to exist. Perhaps it's really in
another package? See L<perlform>.
+=item Undefined value assigned to typeglob
+
+(W) An undefined value was assigned to a typeglob, a la C<*foo = undef>.
+This does nothing. It's possible that you really mean C<undef *foo>.
+
=item unexec of %s into %s failed!
(F) The unexec() routine failed for some reason. See your local FSF
(F) You specified a signal name to the kill() function that was not recognized.
Say C<kill -l> in your shell to see the valid signal names on your system.
-=item Unrecognized switch: -%s
+=item Unrecognized switch: -%s (-h will show valid options)
(F) You specified an illegal option to Perl. Don't do that.
(If you think you didn't do that, check the #! line to see if it's
=item Unsupported function %s
-(F) This machines doesn't implement the indicated function, apparently.
+(F) This machine doesn't implement the indicated function, apparently.
At least, Configure doesn't think so.
=item Unsupported socket function "%s" called
(D) As an (ahem) accidental feature, C<AUTOLOAD> subroutines are looked
up as methods (using the C<@ISA> hierarchy) even when the subroutines to
be autoloaded were called as plain functions (e.g. C<Foo::bar()>), not
-as methods (e.g. C<Foo->bar()> or C<$obj->bar()>).
+as methods (e.g. C<Foo-E<gt>bar()> or C<$obj-E<gt>bar()>).
This bug will be rectified in Perl 5.005, which will use method lookup
only for methods' C<AUTOLOAD>s. However, there is a significant base
depend on inheriting C<AUTOLOAD> for non-methods from a base class named
C<BaseClass>, execute C<*AUTOLOAD = \&BaseClass::AUTOLOAD> during startup.
+In code that currently says C<use AutoLoader; @ISA = qw(AutoLoader);> you
+should remove AutoLoader from @ISA and change C<use AutoLoader;> to
+C<use AutoLoader 'AUTOLOAD';>.
+
=item Use of %s is deprecated
(D) The construct indicated is no longer recommended for use, generally
of Perl. Check the #! line, or manually feed your script into
Perl yourself.
+=item perl: warning: Setting locale failed.
+
+(S) The whole warning message will look something like:
+
+ perl: warning: Setting locale failed.
+ perl: warning: Please check that your locale settings:
+ LC_ALL = "En_US",
+ LANG = (unset)
+ are supported and installed on your system.
+ perl: warning: Falling back to the standard locale ("C").
+
+Exactly what were the failed locale settings varies. In the above the
+settings were that the LC_ALL was "En_US" and the LANG had no value.
+This error means that Perl detected that you and/or your system
+administrator have set up the so-called variable system but Perl could
+not use those settings. This was not dead serious, fortunately: there
+is a "default locale" called "C" that Perl can and will use, the
+script will be run. Before you really fix the problem, however, you
+will get the same error message each time you run Perl. How to really
+fix the problem can be found in L<perllocale> section B<LOCALE PROBLEMS>.
+
=item Warning: something's wrong
(W) You passed warn() an empty string (the equivalent of C<warn "">) or
projects / p5sagit/p5-mst-13.2.git / blobdiff