Key to Run-Time System Error Messages

These messages are output by the run-time system (RTS), and so can be produced while you are compiling, debugging, or running your program. When you select an error message number, its text and severity is listed, along with an explanation of the error or problem that caused the message, and advice on how to prevent the error.

Run-time system error messages have the following format: 

ErrorCode Description

where the parameters are:

ErrorCode A code containing the following information:
  • The component that the error occurred in.
  • The operation that was taking place when the error occurred.
  • The error message number.
For run-time system errors, ErrorCode is generally of the form COBRTnnnn (applies to Windows environments only).
Description A description of the cause of the error.

There are two types of run-time error:

Fatal A message is sent to the screen and the program terminates immediately.
Recoverable The error is reported to the program. You can trap these errors in your program, but often they are the result of an error in your program's logic. If the program does not trap the error, a message is sent to the screen and the program terminates immediately.

Comments:

If the RTS is unable to write an error message to the screen (for example, when running in a Windows service), then the run-time error message will instead be sent to the Windows Application event log.

Parent topic: Run-time System Error Messages