[PD-dev] pd_error() for udpsend, tcpsend, etc.

[Martin Peach]

IOhannes m zmoelnig wrote:
> On 2010-07-07 04:03, Hans-Christoph Steiner wrote:
>> Hey Martin,
>>
>> I've been using udpsend/udpreceive in a project and they've been great. 
>> I have one small request, which I'd happily implement if you don't want
>> to.  For the error like "not connected", it would be very handy if they
>> used pd_error() so that the error is findable.
>>
> 
> i started doing this a while ago, and eventually stopped[1] it again.
> the reasoning behind this is:
> as you have well observed, pd_error() allows you to find the error with
> the find menu. the target case for this is patching errors (e.g. sending
> a symbol to a float-only inlet) where you want to find the erroneous
> code and fix it.
> an error like "not connected" is very much unlikely to be caused due to
> a patching error. it's more likely to be caused of user-error, e.g.
> because the given remote host is unavailable.
> "users" (as opposed to patchers) have a different role and are
> potentially different people. i believe that they should have a
> different feedback. (even if patcher and user are the same person, they
> will gain more insight if they know right from the start whether the
> problem is a syntax error or a logical error) [2]
> 
> it should be possible to get feedback within the patch for all errors
> caused by user-input. so if you get "not connected", there should be a
> way for the patch to know about this. if this is the case, you can
> manually "throw" a findeable error by means of things like [canvaserror]
> anyhow.

I agree that the console should not be used for messages that can be 
handled in the patchwork. Once a message has left the patch only the 
user can handle it.
[udpsend] currently outputs one or zero when its connection state 
changes. For in-patch control it might be better if it outputs a message 
like "connect 0" on disconnect and "connect 1" on connect. Then the same 
outlet can be used for other status messages and they can be routed 
within the patch.
Attempting to send through an unconnected [udpsend] would then just 
cause it to emit "connect 0" from its outlet.

Martin