Q60750: C Compiler and Linker Send Errors to Stdout Not Stderr

Article: Q60750
Product(s): See article
Version(s): 5.10
Operating System(s): MS-DOS
Keyword(s): ENDUSER | s_util s_pascal h_fortran h_masm docsup docerr | mspl13_c
Last Modified: 19-APR-1990

Current versions of the C compiler and linker send error messages to
stdout instead of stderr. Use of the ERROUT utility shipped with
Microsoft C Version 5.10 does not redirect these error messages to a
file as is suggested in the documentation.

The following example from the Microsoft C Version 5.10 "CodeView and
Utilities Software Development Tools for the MS-DOS Operating System"
manual, Page 329, is misleading:

   ERROUT /f C_ERRORS.DOC CL /AL /Zi /Od demo.c

In the above example, the only thing printed in C_ERRORS.DOC is the C
compiler copyright and version message. Neither the compiler or the
linker errors appear there. This is not an error in the ERROUT
utility, nor is it an error in C Version 5.10; it is just a change in
the way error messages are output from the newer compilers.

This new method of sending error output to stdout allows our products
to function more easily with third-party editors that check only
stdout for compiler and linker messages.

Note: The ERROUT utility is designed for use only with executable
programs and batch files. Attempting to use it on DOS commands, such
as DIR, usually only results in the failure of the command.

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