COMEDI_STRERROR(3)

✨ COMEDI_STRERROR ✨

okay bestie, so this is the Comedi reference page for comedi_strerror(3) — the little function that turns Comedilib's sad little error numbers into words your brain can actually read 💖 no cap, it's a glow-up for error codes and it's lowkey iconic.

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🌸 NAME 🌸

comedi_strerror — ngl it just returns a string describing a Comedilib error code 🫶

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <comedilib.h>

const char * comedi_strerror(int errnum);

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💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

so here's the vibe 🌈 — when a Comedilib function fails, it usually returns -1 or NULL, depending on the return type. Which one it is? Depends on the return type bestie, the function decides 🙈

and there's this internal library variable that's just sitting there holding an error number. You can grab it with comedi_errno. then you can turn that number into something human-readable using comedi_perror or comedi_strerror ✨

these functions are literally meant to mimic the behavior of the standard C library functions perror, strerror, and errno. periodt. and here's a detail that matters fr fr: Comedilib functions sometimes return an error that's generated inside the C library — and in that case, the comedi error message is exactly the same as the C library's. same message, no extra drama 💀

so comedi_strerror returns a pointer to a character string describing the Comedilib error errnum. 📝

⚠️ heads up: the returned string may be modified by a subsequent call to a strerr or perror function — and that means either the libc versions or the Comedilib versions. so don't go saving that pointer and acting surprised later, bestie 😭

and if the error number is unrecognized? you get a pointer to the string "undefined error", or something along those lines. it's giving mystery 💀 but at least you're not left hanging.

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👑 AUTHORS 👑

these are the legends, the main characters of this whole thing 🎀

• David Schleef <ds@schleef.org> — Author.
• Frank Mori Hess <fmhess@users.sourceforge.net> — Author.
• Herman Bruyninckx <Herman.Bruyninckx@mech.kuleuven.ac.be> — Author.
• Bernd Porr <tech@linux-usb-daq.co.uk> — Author.
• Ian Abbott <abbotti@mev.co.uk> — Author.
• Éric Piel <piel@delmic.com> — Author.

ate and left no crumbs, honestly 💜

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📜 COPYRIGHT 📜

Copyright © 1998-2003 David Schleef Copyright © 2001-2003, 2005, 2008 Frank Mori Hess Copyright © 2002-2003 Herman Bruyninckx Copyright © 2012 Bernd Porr Copyright © 2012 Ian Abbott Copyright © 2012, 2015 Éric Piel

This document is part of Comedilib. In the context of this document, the term "source code" as defined by the license is interpreted as the XML source. 🌸

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, version 2.1 of the License.

This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details. 😤 (yes bestie, that part is real and it is loud)

You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA. 💌

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okay that's the whole page 🫶 this came from the Comedi reference, dated 03/20/2026, and it's filed under COMEDI_STRERROR(3) — go forth and debug slay-fully, bestie 💅✨