Feature #1336
openImprove usability of error messages
0%
Description
At the moment babeltrace2's error messages are as follows
$ babeltrace2 trace -o ctf
11-30 09:45:52.878 16686 16686 E CLI/CFG-CLI-ARGS bt_config_convert_from_args@babeltrace2-cfg-cli-args.c:3971 --output-format=ctf specified without --output (trace output path).
11-30 09:45:52.878 16686 16686 E CLI main@babeltrace2.c:2663 Command-line error: retcode=1
ERROR: [ Babeltrace CLI ] ( babeltrace2.c:2663 )
Command-line error: retcode=1
CAUSED BY [ Babeltrace CLI ] ( babeltrace2-cfg-cli-args.c:3971 )
--output-format=ctf specified without --output (trace output path).
where bold is bold and italics are colored.
The part the user needs to see in order to solve their issue is the last line and is one of the few items not highlighted:
--output-format=ctf specified without --output (trace output path).
This line is difficult to find in the wall of text if you don't know what you are looking for.
I would recommend
$ babeltrace2 trace -o ctf
babeltrace2: --output-format=ctf specified without --output (trace output path).
and
$babeltrace2 trace -o ctf -v
11-30 09:45:52.878 16686 16686 E CLI/CFG-CLI-ARGS bt_config_convert_from_args@babeltrace2-cfg-cli-args.c:3971 --output-format=ctf specified without --output (trace output path).
11-30 09:45:52.878 16686 16686 E CLI main@babeltrace2.c:2663 Command-line error: retcode=1
ERROR: [ Babeltrace CLI ] ( babeltrace2.c:2663 )
Command-line error: retcode=1
CAUSED BY [ Babeltrace CLI ] ( babeltrace2-cfg-cli-args.c:3971 )
--output-format=ctf specified without --output (trace output path).