ERR_NEW(3ossl)

📦 version 3.5.0, in opensuse-leap 16.0

💅 ERR_NEW(3ossl) — the OpenSSL error-recording building blocks, bestie

Okay so this is OpenSSL's page for ERR_new, ERR_set_debug, ERR_set_error and ERR_vset_error — the literal building blocks of error recording. Welcome to the group chat 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

ERR_new, ERR_set_debug, ERR_set_error, ERR_vset_error — Error recording building blocks. That's the whole vibe: these are the lil LEGO bricks that other error functions get built out of 🧱

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <openssl/err.h>

void ERR_new(void);
void ERR_set_debug(const char *file, int line, const char *func);
void ERR_set_error(int lib, int reason, const char *fmt, ...);
void ERR_vset_error(int lib, int reason, const char *fmt, va_list args);

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So here's the tea: the functions described here are generally not used directly, but rather through macros such as ERR_raise(3). They can still be useful for anyone that wants to make their own macros tho — like, if you're the DIY main character of your own error-handling era, these are for you ✨

  • ERR_new() — allocates a new slot in the thread's error queue. That's it. That's the whole job 💅
  • ERR_set_debug() — sets the debug information related to the current error in the thread's error queue. The values that can be given are the filename file, line in the file line and the name of the function func where the error occurred. Heads up bestie: the names must be constant — this function will only save away the pointers, not copy the strings. No cap, your strings gotta outlive the call 🙈
  • ERR_set_error() — sets the error information, which are the library number lib and the reason code reason, and additional data as a format string fmt and an arbitrary number of arguments. The additional data is processed with BIO_snprintf(3) to form the additional data string, which is allocated and store in the error record. Cute, formatted, and stored 🎀
  • ERR_vset_error() — works like ERR_set_error(), but takes a va_list argument instead of a variable number of arguments. Same energy, different signature 🧚

⭐ RETURN VALUES ⭐

ERR_new, ERR_set_debug, ERR_set_error and ERR_vset_error do not return any values. Nothing. Nada. void era 👑

🌈 NOTES 🌈

The library number is unique to each unit that records errors. OpenSSL has a number of preallocated ones for its own uses, but others may allocate their own library number dynamically with ERR_get_next_error_library(3) — make your own number, slay ✨

Reason codes are unique within each library, and may have an associated set of strings as a short description of the reason. For dynamically allocated library numbers, reason strings are recorded with ERR_load_strings(3) 📚

Provider authors are supplied with core versions of these functions, see provider-base(7). Provider besties, you get your own copies 🫶

💖 SEE ALSO 💖

ERR_raise(3), ERR_get_next_error_library(3), ERR_load_strings(3), BIO_snprintf(3), provider-base(7)

Copyright 2000-2020 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License"). You may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at <https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.

Fr fr, read the license before you go copying anything — it's giving legal realness, not a suggestion 😭

Version 3.5.0, dated 2026-09-25 — that's the whole page, bestie. Go build some errors and make them iconic 💅✨🎀🦋

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