[m-users.] io.error type

[Fabrice Nicol]

>
> But those platforms are all POSIX, aren't they?  Linux, MacOS, 
> Windows...  Why not hand over the POSIX error codes, like it is done 
> in the "posix" library, which is distributed in the "extras" directory 
> in the Mercury source tree?
>
OK, I now better see what you mean. Yes, you have a point there.

Looking at the io implementation, those error codes are actually C errno 
codes, set after fopen was called and returned NULL (in C grades). (Save 
in the rare cases when fopen does not return null, and fstat is called 
to check whether you tried to open a directory).

Now these errno codes are buried in the implementation and lost as 
out-mode arguments to open_input. The "burial" takes place in line 12710 
of io.m (implementation predicate is_error, errno codes are in the first 
argument, wrapped in system_error types).

This is clearly by design as Julien wrote. is_error is defined in a 
private interface (line 2102) but a few lines above you can read:

     :- implementation.

     % Everything below here is not intended to be part of the public 
interface,
     % and will not be included in the Mercury library reference manual.

%---------------------------------------------------------------------------%

     :- interface.

%---------------------------------------------------------------------------%
     %
     % For use by library.m.
     %

So yes, errno codes could have been returned, if is_error had been 
publicly visible, but design decisions went against this.

F.