Re: Missing message for key index.title - general comments

[Keith Bacon]

Frank,
I agree very much! Error messages that have a unique
cause & point you towards the solution are much better
than things like
'can't find x in scope null'.
It takes time to add this stuff to code. An
alternative is for us users to set up a faq list or a
common errors & suggested solutions database. I'm not
volunteering, I'm only an occasional struts user -
hoping to use it more though.
Keith. 

--- Frank Lawlor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I noticed lots of people having struts problems with
> this
> symptom.
> 
> From what I have seen of the struts startup, many
> startup
> problems will cause this to be the first symptom for
> the
> example app.  This kind of "one error for all
> situations"
> makes diagnosis difficult.
> 
> Looking in the log may clarify the problem, but I
> noticed
> that some of the problems do not produce obvious log
> entries (errors are swallowed).
> 
> I have some suggestions that struts (and web apps
> generally) can use to help make it easier to debug
> installation and other similar startup problems.
> 
> 1) Don't just swallow errors without a clear error
> log
> entry.  E.g.,
> getServletContext().getResourceAsStream(config)
> just swallows security exceptions.  Not good.  It
> does return 
> a null, but this is not enough to identify the
> problem.
> 
> 2) keep some type of structure in which some
> meaningful
> message can be sent to the application interface. 
> For example,
> initialization and other code can put some
> indication of the
> problem in an "Errors" structure.  When the user
> makes a 
> query the application (or struts infrastructure) can
> check to 
> see if "Errors" is non-empty and display a special
> error 
> page which will provide better help in diagnosing
> the problem.
> 
> 3) install and config problems can be more easily
> diagnosed
> by explicitly checking for necessary pre-conditions
> (e.g.,
> file access, network access, etc.) and generating
> specific
> errors.  This could be run separately or optionally
> as part
> of init.
> 
> Frank Lawlor
> Athens Group, Inc.
> (512) 345-0600 x151
> Athens Group, an employee-owned consulting firm
> integrating technology
> strategy and software solutions.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --
> To unsubscribe, e-mail:  
> 
> For additional commands, e-mail:
> 
> 


__
Do You Yahoo!?
Buy the perfect holiday gifts at Yahoo! Shopping.
http://shopping.yahoo.com

--
To unsubscribe, e-mail:   
For additional commands, e-mail: 

Missing message for key index.title - general comments

[Frank Lawlor]

I noticed lots of people having struts problems with this
symptom.

>From what I have seen of the struts startup, many startup
problems will cause this to be the first symptom for the
example app.  This kind of "one error for all situations"
makes diagnosis difficult.

Looking in the log may clarify the problem, but I noticed
that some of the problems do not produce obvious log
entries (errors are swallowed).

I have some suggestions that struts (and web apps
generally) can use to help make it easier to debug
installation and other similar startup problems.

1) Don't just swallow errors without a clear error log
entry.  E.g., getServletContext().getResourceAsStream(config)
just swallows security exceptions.  Not good.  It does return 
a null, but this is not enough to identify the problem.

2) keep some type of structure in which some meaningful
message can be sent to the application interface.  For example,
initialization and other code can put some indication of the
problem in an "Errors" structure.  When the user makes a 
query the application (or struts infrastructure) can check to 
see if "Errors" is non-empty and display a special error 
page which will provide better help in diagnosing the problem.

3) install and config problems can be more easily diagnosed
by explicitly checking for necessary pre-conditions (e.g.,
file access, network access, etc.) and generating specific
errors.  This could be run separately or optionally as part
of init.

Frank Lawlor
Athens Group, Inc.
(512) 345-0600 x151
Athens Group, an employee-owned consulting firm integrating technology
strategy and software solutions.




--
To unsubscribe, e-mail:   
For additional commands, e-mail: