Error message hygiene in tr(1) - started when I found "write error"
unhelpfull (no %r) and escalated to tweeks to all the messages.

-Steve

Reference: /n/sources/patch/applied/tr-errmsgs
Date: Wed Feb 18 11:20:05 CET 2009
Signed-off-by: steve@quintile.net

--- /sys/src/cmd/tr.c	Wed Feb 18 11:15:19 2009
+++ /sys/src/cmd/tr.c	Wed Feb 18 11:15:17 2009
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@
 void	delete(void);
 void	squeeze(void);
 void	translit(void);
-void	error(char*);
 long	canon(Pcb*);
 char	*getrune(char*, Rune*);
 void	Pinit(Pcb*, char*);
@@ -48,21 +47,21 @@
 	case 's':	sflag++; break;
 	case 'd':	dflag++; break;
 	case 'c':	cflag++; break;
-	default:	error("bad option");
+	default:	sysfatal("unknown option");
 	}ARGEND
 	if(argc>0)
 		Pinit(&pfrom, argv[0]);
 	if(argc>1)
 		Pinit(&pto, argv[1]);
 	if(argc>2)
-		error("arg count");
+		sysfatal("insufficent args");
 	if(dflag) {
 		if ((sflag && argc != 2) || (!sflag && argc != 1))
-			error("arg count");
+			sysfatal("incorrect arg count");
 		delete();
 	} else {
 		if (argc != 2)
-			error("arg count");
+			sysfatal("incorrect arg count");
 		if (cflag)
 			complement();
 		else translit();
@@ -117,7 +116,7 @@
 	}
 	Prewind(&pto);
 	if ((p = (Rune *) malloc((high+1)*sizeof(Rune))) == 0)
-		error("can't allocate memory");
+		sysfatal("no memory");
 	for (i = 0; i <= high; i++){
 		if (!BITSET(f,i)) {
 			if ((to = canon(&pto)) < 0)
@@ -165,7 +164,7 @@
 		if (from > high) high = from;
 	Prewind(&pfrom);
 	if ((p = (Rune *) malloc((high+1)*sizeof(Rune))) == 0)
-		error("can't allocate memory");
+		sysfatal("no memory");
 	for (i = 0; i <= high; i++)
 		p[i] = i;
 	while ((from = canon(&pfrom)) >= 0) {
@@ -173,7 +172,7 @@
 			to = lastc;
 		else lastc = to;
 		if (BITSET(f,from) && p[from] != to)
-			error("ambiguous translation");
+			sysfatal("ambiguous translation");
 		SETBIT(f,from);
 		p[from] = to;
 		SETBIT(t,to);
@@ -219,7 +218,7 @@
 			i = n-j;
 			n = read(fd, &buf[i], sizeof(buf)-i);
 			if (n < 0)
-				error("read error");
+				sysfatal("read failed - %r");
 			if (n == 0)
 				return 0;
 			j = 0;
@@ -254,7 +253,7 @@
 {
 	if (wptr && wptr > wbuf)
 		if (write(fd, wbuf, wptr-wbuf) != wptr-wbuf)
-			error("write error");
+			sysfatal("write failed - %r");
 	wptr = wbuf;
 }
 
@@ -303,7 +302,7 @@
 				}
 			}
 			if(n > 0377)
-				error("char>0377");
+				sysfatal("character > 0377");
 		}
 		*rp = n;
 	}
@@ -325,7 +324,7 @@
 	if(*p->current == '-' && p->last >= 0 && p->current[1]){
 		p->current = getrune(p->current+1, &r);
 		if (r < p->last)
-			error ("Invalid range specification");
+			sysfatal("invalid range specification");
 		if (r > p->last) {
 			p->final = r;
 			return ++p->last;
@@ -347,10 +346,4 @@
 {
 	p->current = p->base;
 	p->last = p->final = -1;
-}
-void
-error(char *s)
-{
-	fprint(2, "%s: %s\n", argv0, s);
-	exits(s);
 }