Appendix A - Error Messages

The Full Screen Editor prints any errors it detects on the command line and pauses for you to type a carriage return to clear the error.

out of memory

The Editor was unable to allocate space to replace an existing line or add a new line.

unknown command

The editor encountered an unknown major command or subcommand character.

invalid pattern specification

A pattern was specified which was not acceptable because:

• Terminating delimiter of pattern missing.
• Pattern exceeds 128 characters.
• Pattern starts with a “*”.
• // pattern specified when no pattern was defined.

buffer has been modified, use qq to quit without saving

An attempt to leave the editor via the quit command when your text buffer has been modified since your last write to a file.

invalid line number or line range

A command has detected an invalid line number or range of line numbers. This can be caused by:

• line1,line2 where line1 is greater than line2.
• line is greater than the last line in the buffer.
• line is zero on a command other than a,k, m,r or z.
• Target of a move or kopy falls within the source range.

x command encountered within an execute file

An attempt has been made to nest execute commands.

current file not defined

An e,r,w or x command was entered without a filename and no current filename was defined. You can define it with the f command.

unable to access file

The file system was unable to open the requested file. This can be caused by:

• Invalid filename specified.
• No permissions to open file. (read, write or append)
• Filename specified can not be found. Check spelling.

syntax error

A recognized command was specified incorrectly. Some commands which do not take a line range will flag a syntax error if given one (e.g.: e, f).

filename too long

A pathname of more than 64 characters was specified on a e,f,r,w or x command.

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The QNX maximum pathname size is 255 characters, however the editor will accept only pathnames up to 64 characters in length. You may have to cd to a directory first in order to edit some files.

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unknown option

An unknown option character was specified in the option command.

line greater than 512 chars

On a read from a file, a line greater than 512 characters was encountered. The line is broken at 512 characters. Reading will continue when you type carriage return. The j and s commands can also cause this error.

pattern not found

The pattern specified in a line search or a substitute command was not found anywhere in the buffer.

disk error

An error has occurred while trying to read/write a disk file. Make sure that the disk is not write protected (if writing). Otherwise, this error may signal a defective diskette or a bad block.

Attempt to write to a file which is not the current file. Use ww to force.

You are trying to write to a named file which is different from the one you edited. Perhaps you wanted to type “e file” and missed the “e” and hit the “w” instead. If you are sure, recall the line using the F10 key and insert a second “w” for a command of “ww file”.