[Info-vax] Unexpected error using ZIP for OpenVMS

[AEF]

On Dec 20, 11:56 pm, Steven Schweda <sms.antin... at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Dec 20, 8:46 pm, AEF <spamsink2... at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>    I realize that this is pointless, but ...
>
> > >    To me, this is utter nonsense.  A user can specify
> > That was my point.
>
>    Your point is that you were making no sense?

I lost the point at this point. I won't bother to try to reconstruct
this to answer it. OK.

>
> > 1) If the user were to expect any of the above errors (1
> > thru 4), why wouldn't he fix the problem before running the
> > code? Therefore, I assumed it must be the programmer.
>
>    Huh?  Why would the user expect that he was making a
> typing error, or that his file was corrupted?

Well, I didn't think of that possibility. Yeah, I don't suppose a user
would not expect to make a typing mistake at a particular time, but
you do have to assume you'd make typing mistakes _some_ of the time.

>
> > 2) Didn't you have a hand in writing the code? So when you
> > talk about expecting or not expecting an error, I assume
> > you're talking from the programmer's point of view.
>
>    I am a user and a developer.  You are a user.  Of course
> I'd write to you as if we were both developers.  You have a
> remarkable gift for non sequitur.
>
> > 3) One complicating factor is the fact that I have several
> > times encountered error messages that say, "unexpected error
> > . . . " [...]
>
>    Not in any of my code.

All right! I'm very glad to hear that. Perhaps if I had never seen one
I would have never brought this up.

>
> > There you have three reasons why.
>
>    There I have three (specious) reasons why _what_?

Because of this part you trimmed out:

" Who said that the _program_, and not its user, expected an
error (or anything else)? "

>
> > If I expect that running a program will produce an error, I
> > try to do something about it first. So in this sense, all
> > errors are unexpected, in which case the whole concept
> > becomes meaningless.
>
>    Yes, if you insist on nonsensical definitions, then many
> things will make no sense.

My point was that an error being "unexpected" was nonsensical.

>
>    You win.  This waste of time is too tiring to continue.

OK.

Looking forward to your next episode of humor.

My apologies for any misunderstanding.

AEF