Error Types
There are four types of errors:
a/ Fatal errors that stop all list processing - they must be dealt with before other processing can continue.
b/ Semi-fatal errors - they won't affect the processing, but they will cause sort-problems.
c/ Non-fatal errors - they won't affect the processing or cause sort-problems, but may affect some keywording programs.
d/ Trivial errors - they don't really affect anything but are best removed anyway.
Errors that we are looking for:
Description (Type) - Deleting Notes
--------------------------------------------------------
Excess Tabs (a) - Can't be deleted automatically because it needs inspection first
Blank Lines (a) - Could be deleted but best to be inspected first
Uneven Square Brackets (b) - Can't be deleted automatically as we don't know if there is a bracket too many or a bracket too less
Uneven Curly Brackets (b) - Can't be deleted automatically as we don't know if there is a bracket too many or a bracket too less
Uneven Round Brackets (b) - Can't be deleted automatically as we don't know if there is a bracket too many or a bracket too less
Uneven Diamond Brackets (b) - Can't be deleted automatically as we don't know if there is a bracket too many or a bracket too less
Matching Lines (b) - Can be deleted automatically, after Excess Tabs and Blank Lines errors are fixed
Illegal Characters (c) - Could be deleted automatically but best to be inspected first
Foreign Characters (c) - These need transliterating rather than deleting
Non-ASCII Characters (c) - Could be deleted automatically but best to be inspected first
Trailing Spaces (d) - Can be deleted automatically
Trailing Tabs (d) - Can be deleted automatically
Trapped Tabs (d) - These are often a marker for a missing Carriage Return, so shouldn't be deleted automatically.
Error definitions:
Excess Tabs: A line where the number of its tab-indentations compared to the previous line is greater than one.
Blank Lines: A line that is empty, or contains only tab-characters or spaces.
Uneven Square Brackets: A line that has an unequal number of left and right square brackets.
Uneven Curly Brackets: A line that has an unequal number of left and right curly brackets.
Uneven Round Brackets: A line that has an unequal number of left and right round brackets.
Uneven Diamond Brackets: A line that has an unequal number of left and right diamond brackets.
Matching Lines: A line that is identical in every respect to another one. Not the same as a 'Duplicate'.
Illegal Characters: A line that contains characters that the end-user program can not tolerate.
Foreign Characters: Non-ASCII characters that contain diacritics or diacritical marks.
Non-ASCII Characters: Non-ASCII characters that may cause end-user program errors.
Trailing Spaces: A line that contains space characters at the end of a line, after the text.
Trailing Tabs: A line that contains tab characters at the end of a line, after the text.
Trapped Tabs: A line that contains tab characters between two or more items of text.