perror and strerror functions - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to print an error message using perror.

C

#include <stdio.h>
#include <errno.h>

int main() {
    FILE *fp = fopen("nonexistent.txt", "r");
    if (fp == NULL) {
        [1]("File open error");
    }
    return 0;
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aperror

Bprintf

Cstrerror

Dfprintf

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using printf instead of perror to print error messages.

The perror function prints a descriptive error message to stderr based on the current errno value.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to get the error message string from errno using strerror.

C

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <errno.h>

int main() {
    int errnum = 2;
    printf("Error message: %s\n", [1](errnum));
    return 0;
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aperror

Bfprintf

Cstrerror_r

Dstrerror

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using perror instead of strerror to get error string.

The strerror function returns a pointer to the error message string corresponding to the error number.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the code to correctly print the error message using perror.

C

#include <stdio.h>
#include <errno.h>

int main() {
    FILE *fp = fopen("missing.txt", "r");
    if (fp == NULL) {
        perror([1]);
    }
    return 0;
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

ANULL

B"File error"

Cstrerror(errno)

Derrno

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Passing errno or NULL instead of a string to perror.

The perror function expects a string prefix to print before the error message. Passing a string literal like "File error" is correct.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a dictionary-like mapping of error numbers to messages using strerror.

C

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <errno.h>

int main() {
    int errors[] = {1, 2, 3};
    for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
        printf("Error %d: %s\n", errors[i], [1](errors[i]));
    }
    return [2];
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Astrerror

Bperror

C0

D1

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using perror inside the loop or returning 1 instead of 0.

Use strerror to get the error message string for each error number. Return 0 to indicate successful program completion.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to print an error message using strerror and return an error code.

C

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <errno.h>

int main() {
    FILE *fp = fopen("file.txt", "r");
    if (fp == NULL) {
        fprintf(stderr, "Error opening file: %s\n", [1]([2]));
        return [3];
    }
    fclose(fp);
    return 0;
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aperror

Berrno

C1

Dstrerror

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using perror inside fprintf or returning 0 on error.

strerror(errno) returns the error message string for the last error. Returning 1 indicates an error exit code.

Practice

1. What does the perror function do in C?

easy

A. Prints a custom message followed by the system error message

B. Returns a string describing an error number

C. Terminates the program immediately

D. Clears the error state of the program

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand perror purpose

   perror prints a message you provide, then adds the system error message related to the last error.

2. Step 2: Compare with other options

   strerror returns a string but does not print; program termination or clearing errors are unrelated.

3. Final Answer:

   Prints a custom message followed by the system error message -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   perror prints message + system error [OK]

Hint: perror prints errors; strerror returns error strings [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing perror with strerror
• Thinking perror returns a string
• Assuming perror stops the program

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to print an error message using perror with the text "File error"?

easy

A. perror(File_error);

B. perror(File error);

C. perror("File error");

D. perror('File error');

Solution

1. Step 1: Check correct string syntax in C

   Strings must be in double quotes, so "File error" is correct.

2. Step 2: Validate perror usage

   perror takes a const char* string, so perror("File error") is correct syntax.

3. Final Answer:

   perror("File error"); -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Use double quotes for strings in perror [OK]

Hint: Use double quotes for strings in perror [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using single quotes instead of double quotes
• Passing variable names without quotes
• Missing parentheses in function call

3. What will be the output of the following C code snippet if errno is set to ENOENT (No such file or directory)?

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <errno.h>

int main() {
    printf("Error: %s\n", strerror(errno));
    return 0;
}

medium

A. Error: strerror function not found

B. Error: Permission denied

C. Error: Unknown error

D. Error: No such file or directory

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand strerror(errno)

   strerror returns a string describing the error number stored in errno.

2. Step 2: Match errno value to message

   ENOENT means "No such file or directory", so strerror(errno) returns that message.

3. Final Answer:

   Error: No such file or directory -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   strerror(ENOENT) = "No such file or directory" [OK]

Hint: strerror(errno) shows error message for current error [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing error messages for different errno values
• Assuming strerror prints instead of returns string
• Not including header

4. Identify the error in this code snippet that tries to print an error message:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <errno.h>

int main() {
    int errnum = ENOENT;
    printf("Error: %s\n", perror(errnum));
    return 0;
}

medium

A. Using perror inside printf is incorrect; perror prints directly and returns void

B. Missing header

C. Incorrect error number assigned to errnum

D. printf format specifier %s should be %d

Solution

1. Step 1: Check perror return type

   perror prints directly to stderr and returns void; it does not return a string.

2. Step 2: Analyze usage inside printf

   Passing perror(errnum) inside printf is invalid because perror returns void, not a string.

3. Final Answer:

   Using perror inside printf is incorrect; perror prints directly and returns void -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   perror prints itself, don't use inside printf [OK]

Hint: perror prints error; don't use inside printf [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using perror inside printf expecting a string
• Confusing perror and strerror return types
• Ignoring compiler warnings about void return

5. You want to write a function that opens a file and prints a clear error message if it fails. Which approach correctly uses perror and strerror together to achieve this?

FILE *open_file(const char *filename) {
    FILE *f = fopen(filename, "r");
    if (!f) {
        // What to do here?
    }
    return f;
}

hard

A. Call perror(filename) without message, then return NULL

B. Call perror("Failed to open file") to print error, then return NULL

C. Print printf("Error: %s\n", strerror(errno)) only, then return NULL

D. Return NULL without printing any error message

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand error reporting with perror

   perror prints your message plus the system error, making it clear why fopen failed.

2. Step 2: Compare options for clarity

   Call perror("Failed to open file") to print error, then return NULL uses perror("Failed to open file"), which is clear and standard. Print printf("Error: %s\n", strerror(errno)) only, then return NULL prints only strerror message without context. Call perror(filename) without message, then return NULL prints filename only, which is less clear. Return NULL without printing any error message prints nothing.

3. Final Answer:

   Call perror("Failed to open file") to print error, then return NULL -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Use perror with custom message for clear errors [OK]

Hint: Use perror with custom text for clear error messages [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Printing strerror without context message
• Using perror with filename only, confusing output
• Not printing any error message on failure