Tuesday, May 06, 2008

The problem is: no problem

I'm struggling to get a large computer program to work in an unusual setting, so the error message I got is intended for astute developers, not ordinary users. Still, considering how I got it, I think ANYONE could find themselves facing this error message. It wasn't very helpful. My program pulls together many other programs, including parts of a Microsoft framework, and libraries from a vendor. There seems to be an incompatibility somewhere. In any case, this is what some part of that framework, or that vendor library, said to me, just before killing my program. It popped up a message box. The title of the message box was:

Problem 5

The message itself was:

The operation completed successfully.


We don't know what that means.

By the way, I made a wonderful typo when I composed this blog entry. Originally I wrote: "It pooped up a message box."
I corrected my spelling, but frankly, that's a better description of how I felt.

3 comments:

Martin Langeland said...

Error messages are the modern world's Delphic Oracle.
The principal trichotomy is this:
IO

How many ways can one read that?
--ml

tobyr21@gmail.com said...

Martin,

For starters: ID numbers, serial numbers and the like should never contain any letters or digits that can be confused. I'm incredulous whenever I see a serial number or an install code with any zeroes, i's, o's, etc. There is NO excuse.

The symbol you wrote in your comment "obviously" means on/off. Or maybe it's a capital O with a bar over it, written sideways.

Thanks for commenting!
- PB

Martin Langeland said...

Bit by the bytes.
Spozed to by one and zero as in binary numbers sometimes mistaken for base ten ten But also might be a Greek island. Or as you say.
True language precission, as Dr Hayakawa might have pointed out. is far too time consuming for mere mortals.
I once heard of a kid who drove his parents crazy mad by dawdling at the breakfast table. When tasked for his dilitoriness told them he was waiting for his oatmeal to "get warm".
"But its hot!" Said his Mother. "soon it will be cold." his Father remarked.
When the cereal was warm,I.E.: NEITHER HOT NOR COLD, the kid ate.
As for me my fingers abetted by the cold cudgeling of my feeble wit cause problems. I defer to you for precission.
--ml