<s>
In	O
computing	O
,	O
an	O
error	B-Application
code	I-Application
(	O
or	O
a	O
return	B-Application
code	I-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
numeric	O
or	O
alphanumeric	O
code	O
that	O
indicates	O
the	O
nature	O
of	O
an	O
error	O
and	O
,	O
when	O
possible	O
,	O
why	O
it	O
occurred	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
can	O
be	O
reported	O
to	O
end	O
users	O
of	O
software	O
,	O
returned	O
from	O
communication	O
protocols	O
,	O
or	O
used	O
within	O
programs	O
as	O
a	O
method	O
of	O
representing	O
anomalous	O
conditions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
are	O
commonly	O
encountered	O
on	O
displays	O
of	O
consumer	O
electronics	O
to	O
users	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
communicate	O
or	O
specify	O
an	O
error	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
commonly	O
reported	O
by	O
consumer	O
electronics	O
when	O
users	O
bring	O
electronics	O
to	O
perform	O
tasks	O
that	O
they	O
cannot	O
do	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
dividing	B-Algorithm
by	I-Algorithm
zero	I-Algorithm
)	O
,	O
or	O
when	O
the	O
program	O
within	O
a	O
device	O
encounters	O
an	O
anomalous	O
condition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
reported	O
by	O
consumer	O
electronics	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
help	O
diagnose	O
and	O
repair	O
technical	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
error	B-Application
code	I-Application
can	O
be	O
communicated	O
to	O
relevant	O
support	O
staff	O
to	O
identify	O
potential	O
fixes	O
,	O
or	O
can	O
simplify	O
research	O
into	O
the	O
cause	O
of	O
an	O
error	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
no	O
definitive	O
format	O
for	O
error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
,	O
meaning	O
that	O
error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
typically	O
differ	O
from/between	O
products	O
and	O
or	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
in	O
computers	O
can	O
be	O
passed	O
to	O
the	O
system	O
itself	O
,	O
to	O
judge	O
how	O
to	O
respond	O
to	O
the	O
error	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Often	O
error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
come	O
synonymous	O
with	O
an	O
exit	B-Operating_System
code	I-Operating_System
or	O
a	O
return	O
value	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
may	O
also	O
choose	O
to	O
pass	O
the	O
error	B-Application
code	I-Application
to	O
its	O
user(s )	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Blue	O
screen	O
of	O
death	O
is	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
how	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
communicates	O
error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
to	O
the	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
can	O
be	O
used	O
within	O
a	O
computer	O
program	O
to	O
represent	O
an	O
anomalous	O
condition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
computer	O
program	O
can	O
take	O
different	O
actions	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
value	O
of	O
an	O
error	B-Application
code	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Different	O
programming	O
languages	O
,	O
operating	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
programming	O
environments	O
often	O
have	O
their	O
own	O
conventions	O
and	O
standards	O
for	O
the	O
meanings	O
and	O
values	O
of	O
error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Application
defines	O
its	O
own	O
errno.h	B-Error_Name
header	O
file	O
,	O
containing	O
the	O
meanings	O
and	O
values	O
of	O
error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
returned	O
by	O
system	B-Operating_System
calls	I-Operating_System
and	O
library	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
 '	O
application	O
programming	O
interfaces	O
(	O
APIs	O
)	O
have	O
several	O
different	O
standards	O
for	O
error	B-Application
code	I-Application
values	O
,	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
specific	O
API	O
being	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
usage	O
of	O
error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
as	O
an	O
error	B-General_Concept
handling	I-General_Concept
strategy	O
is	O
often	O
contrasted	O
against	O
using	O
exceptions	B-General_Concept
for	O
error	B-General_Concept
handling	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Communication	O
protocols	O
typically	O
define	O
a	O
standard	O
set	O
of	O
error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
,	O
as	O
a	O
means	O
of	O
communicating	O
the	O
status	O
or	O
result	O
of	O
an	O
operation	O
between	O
the	O
entities	O
in	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
high-level	O
protocols	O
in	O
the	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
stack	I-Protocol
,	O
such	O
as	O
HTTP	B-Protocol
,	O
FTP	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
SMTP	B-Protocol
,	O
define	O
their	O
own	O
standard	O
sets	O
of	O
error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
:	O
</s>
<s>
Error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
in	O
automobiles	O
,	O
sometimes	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
trouble	O
codes	O
,	O
indicate	O
to	O
a	O
driver	O
or	O
car	O
mechanic	O
what	O
is	O
wrong	O
with	O
a	O
vehicle	O
before	O
repairs	O
are	O
initiated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
vehicles	O
with	O
CAN	B-Protocol
buses	I-Protocol
,	O
error	B-Application
codes	I-Application
are	O
often	O
five-digit	O
codes	O
that	O
pinpoint	O
a	O
particular	O
car	O
fault	O
.	O
</s>
