[FX.php List] Snippet: Displaying Error Code Messages

[Edward L. Ford]

Actually, to expand on this a little more, when I do use this in  
applications, I define a constant at the top of a file that lets me  
quickly go into the file and turn these error code messages on and  
off.  Example:

define('ERROR_MSGS_ON', false); // Turns on error code reports in  
this file
include_once('FX.php');
include_once('connection_data.php');
include_once('FMErrors.php');

Later on, when the code is doing database work where an error can  
occur, I might do something like:

if(ERROR_MSGS_ON) {
	echo("FileMaker Insertion Error Code: " . $ErrorCode . ", " .  
$errorsList[$ErrorCode] . "\n");
}

where $ErrorCode is the error code given when the code logic to the  
database fails, and the $errorsList variable is the array in the  
FMErrors file.

I hope this helps some of the less experienced FX folks.

--Ed
-----------------------------------
http://www.edwardford.net	


On Mar 20, 2007, at 1:41 AM, Edward L. Ford wrote:

> I once used a similar technique below in my solutions, but have  
> since discarded it.  It's great for debugging problems and you  
> don't know what the error code means, but if you use this in a  
> production solution, you open yourself up to a security hole if the  
> error is made through a coding error or a query error that isn't  
> caught before it's sent to FileMaker, and essentially provide an  
> attacker with a starting point to try and see where any weaknesses  
> like in the code.  Thus, I occasionally use this when I get a lot  
> of errors and want a quick way to figure out the problem, but for  
> production solutions, I only display a generic error message.
>
> Just my two cents,
> --Ed
> -----------------------------------
> http://www.edwardford.net	
>
>
> On Mar 19, 2007, at 10:36 AM, Jonathan Schwartz wrote:
>
>> Hi Folks,
>>
>> Wanted to offer up a simple little snippet that I created today to  
>> help with error reporting.  Experienced fx.php users may already  
>> be using this technique....so this is for the beginners/ 
>> intermediate fx.php users.
>>
>> Up to this time, I have been using the FMErrors.php file as a  
>> simple reference tool to look up the meaning of error codes thrown  
>> by FMP/fx.php.  The file is buried deep in the FX folder. That  
>> gets tired after the 1,000th time.  On my last iteration, I  
>> realized that the file is actually an array: the error number is  
>> the key and the error phrase is the value.  Now that I am past my  
>> array-phobia, the answer seems clear. By simply requesting the  
>> value associated with the current error number (key), the error  
>> phrase can easily be displayed, like this:
>>
>> include(FMErrors.php);
>> <snip>
>> if($searchResult['errorCode'] != '0' && $searchResult 
>> ['errorCode'] != '401')
>> {
>> $msg = 'Oops! Your search didn\'t return any results due to a  
>> problem: Error#'.$searchResult['errorCode']. ' '.$errorsList 
>> [$searchResult['errorCode']];
>> }
>> ...and then display the $msg where appropriate.
>>
>>
>> In this case, I have assumed that all errors other than  "0" (No  
>> error) and "401" (No records found) are problems, and that the  
>> message should be displayed.  Your mileage may vary.
>>
>> HTH,
>>
>> Jonathan
>> -- 
>> Jonathan Schwartz
>> Exit 445 Group
>> jonathan at exit445.com
>> http://www.exit445.com
>> 415-381-1852
>> FileMaker 8 Certified Developer
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>
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