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Descriptive error messages

electron/electron
Based on 5 comments
Other

Error messages should be descriptive, contextual, and self-identifying to aid debugging and user understanding. Include relevant context like method names, parameter values, or identifiers that help locate the source of the error.

Error Handling Other

Reviewer Prompt

Error messages should be descriptive, contextual, and self-identifying to aid debugging and user understanding. Include relevant context like method names, parameter values, or identifiers that help locate the source of the error.

Key principles:

  • Make error messages actionable by suggesting workarounds or next steps when possible
  • Include context that identifies where the error originated (method name, component, etc.)
  • Add relevant parameter values or identifiers to help with debugging
  • Use appropriate logging levels (LOG(ERROR) vs DLOG(ERROR)) based on error severity

Examples:

// Poor: Generic error without context
LOG(ERROR) << "Unable to initialize logging from handle.";

// Better: Descriptive with context and actionable guidance
LOG(FATAL) << "Unable to open nul device needed for initialization, aborting startup. "
           << "As a workaround, try starting with --" << switches::kNoStdioInit;

// Poor: Missing context
isolate->ThrowException(v8::Exception::Error(
    gin::StringToV8(isolate, "Unknown error")));

// Better: Self-identifying with context
isolate->ThrowException(v8::Exception::Error(
    gin::StringToV8(isolate, "Failed to retrieve target context for world ID: " + std::to_string(world_id))));

// Poor: Generic error
gin_helper::internal::ReplyChannel::Create(isolate, std::move(callback))
    ->SendError("WebContents does not exist");

// Better: Include channel context for debugging
gin_helper::internal::ReplyChannel::Create(isolate, std::move(callback))
    ->SendError("WebContents does not exist for channel: " + channel);

This approach transforms cryptic errors into meaningful diagnostics that developers can act upon, reducing debugging time and improving the overall development experience.

5
Comments Analyzed
Other
Primary Language
Error Handling
Category

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