From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Error message
Error message
An error message is information displayed when an un- Out of memory
expected condition occurs, usually on a computer or oth- This error occurs when the system has run out of
er device. On modern operating systems with graphical memory or tries to load a file too large to store in
user interfaces, error messages are often displayed using RAM. The fix is to close some programs, or install
dialog boxes. Error messages are used when user inter- more memory.
vention is required, to indicate that a desired operation
has failed, or to relay important warnings (such as warn- [program name] has encountered a problem and needs
ing a computer user that they are almost out of hard disk to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
space). Error messages are seen widely throughout com- This message is displayed by Microsoft Windows
puting, and are part of every operating system or com- XP when a program causes a general protection
puter hardware device. Proper design of error messages fault or invalid page fault.
is an important topic in usability and other fields of hu-
man–computer interaction. Infamous error messages
• Abort, Retry, Fail?
Common error messages • Bad command or file name
The following error messages are commonly seen by • PC LOAD LETTER
modern computer users: • Lp0 on fire
Access denied • Not a typewriter
This error occurs if the user has insufficient • Blue Screen of Death
privileges to a file, or if it has been locked by some • HTTP 404
program or user.
The Blue Screen of Death
Message format
On Microsoft Windows operating systems, this The form that error messages take varies between oper-
screen appears when Windows can no longer run ating systems and programs.
because of a severe error. It is roughly analogous to Error messages on hardware devices, like computer
a kernel panic on Unix or Mac OS X. peripherals, may take the form of dedicated lights indi-
cating an error condition, a brief code that needs to be
The device is not ready interpreted using a look-up sheet or a manual, or via a
This error most often occurs when there is no more detailed message on a display.
floppy disk (or a bad disk) in the disk drive and the On computers, error messages may take the form of
system tries to perform tasks involving this disk. text printed to a console, or they may be presented as
part of a graphical user interface. Error messages are of-
File not found ten presented as a dialog box, which makes them to cause
The file concerned may have been damaged, a following mode error in the user interaction. In many
moved, deleted, or a bug may have caused the cases the original error can be avoided by error preven-
error. Alternatively, the file simply might not exist, tion techniques. Instead of raising an error message the
or the user has mistyped its name. system design should have avoided the conditions that
caused the error.[1]
Low Disk Space
While various graphical user interfaces have differ-
This error occurs when the hard drive is (nearly)
ent conventions for displaying error messages, several
full. To fix this, the user should close some
techniques have become common:
programs (to free swap file usage) and delete some
message,
• A , or pop-up message appears in a window on the
files (normally temporary files, or other files after
screen, blocking further interaction with the
they have been backed up), or get a bigger hard
computer until it is acknowledged. On Mac OS X,
drive.
sheets are a form of dialog box that are attached to a
specific window.
• appear to notify a user about a condition without
interrupting their work. On Windows, notification
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Error message
icons appear in the System Tray. On Mac OS X, The nature of the error determines the amount of in-
notification icons may appear in the menu bar, or formation required to effectively convey the error mes-
may take the form of an application’s icon sage. A complex issue may require a more detailed error
"bouncing" in the Dock. The GNOME user interface message in order to adequately inform the user of the
for Unix systems can display notification icons in a problem.
panel.
• Minor errors may be displayed in a , a small portion
of an application’s window that can display brief
See also
messages to the user. • Human–computer interaction
The three main factors[2] that influence the design of er- • Interaction design
ror messages are technical limitations, the amount of in- • Usability
formation to be presented, and what kind of user input is • User interface design
required.
Some systems have technical limitations that may
constrain the amount of information an error message
References
can contain. For example, a printer with a sixteen-char- [1] Raskin, Jef 2000.The Humane Interface, Addison-
acter alphanumeric display can only show a very limited Wesley ISBN 0-201-37937-6. See chapter 6-4-2,
amount of information at once, so it may need to display Messages to the User
very terse error messages. Even with computer monitors, [2] "Non-Fatal Errors: Creating usable, effective error
the programmer must consider the smallest monitor that messages". http://www.winwriters.com/articles/
a user might reasonably use, and ensure that any error message/index.html. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
messages will fit on that screen.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Error_message&oldid=451955570"
Categories:
• Computer errors
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