#229: Using a nonexistent header file should lead to an error message --------------------------+------------------------------------------------- Reporter: hinder | Owner: Type: enhancement | Status: new Priority: minor | Milestone: Component: Cactus | Version: Resolution: | Keywords: --------------------------+------------------------------------------------- Changes (by hinder):
* priority: major => minor * type: defect => enhancement
Comment:
Let's ignore LoopControl now, as that was not the thorn that I had the problem with. I was using the Vectors thorn, and in my thorn I asked for the vectors.h header file. The thorn Vectors was not in my thorn list.
The correct thing to do if you want to use Vectors is to "require" the Vectors capability. If I had done that, I would have gotten a fatal error that there was no thorn providing that capability, which would have directed me to the solution of the problem (to include Vectors in my thornlist).
Instead, I simply asked for the header file, and the Cactus header file mechanism gives you an empty header file if no thorn provides one. My point is that this is counterintuitive. I would like for Cactus to give an error if you ask for a header file which does not exist. In order to support the case that this might be a valid situation, thorns could specify
OPTIONALLY USES INCLUDE: vectors.h
if it can deal with the header file being empty.