Problematic syntax error format

[Emanuele Torre]

Hello.

Currently, when GNU awk encounters a syntax error in a script file, it
reports a error message in the following format:

  awk: gen_enum_h.awk:7:     if {(!ename)
  awk: gen_enum_h.awk:7:        ^ syntax error

And, similarly, when it encounters a runtime error, it uses this format:

  awk: gen_enum_h.awk:82: fatal: attempt to use scalar `enums' as an array

So a line prefixed by  ARGV[0] ": " FILENAME ":" FNR ":"   basically.

The problem with that is that I am using a awk script in a build step of
one of my programs, and vim's :make command, when building fails, opens
automatically the file specified by the first line on the stdout or
stderr that contains :NUMBER: since that is usually how compilers and
other programs (e.g. grep) report the location of a errors or matches.
But the way it interprets that line is basically just:
* everything up to the first :NUMBER: is the path to the file with the
  problem
* NUMBER is the line number
* if there is another  NUMBER:   after the first :NUMBER:, that is the
  column number

When I accidentaly introduce a error in that script when I am modifying
it, since gawk is prefixing ARGV[0]": " to FILENAME":"FNR":", for the
previously mentioned error message, vim opens a new non-existing file
named "awk: gen_enum_h.awk" instead of "gen_enum_h.awk" at line 7. Which
is quite annoying.

I agree that vim is not being very smart here, but I also think gawk
should avoid outputing FILENAME:LINENUMBER with something at the start
of the line since the general convention is to only output that kind of
format from at the start of the line.

Could you please change the output format of those syntax errors to make
them play nicer with vim's :make command?

Either don't use ":"NUMBER":"; and instead say "line NUMBER:" like mawk,
nawk, GNU sed, bash, and others, so it is not recognised as
FILENAME:NUMBER:

  mawk: gen_enum_h.awk: line 7: syntax error at or near {

  nawk: syntax error at source line 4 source file gen_enum_h.awk
   context is
              if >>>  { <<<
  nawk: illegal statement at source line 4 source file gen_enum_h.awk
  nawk: illegal statement at source line 4 source file gen_enum_h.awk
          missing }

  sed: file - line 1: extra characters after command

  /dev/stdin: line 2: syntax error: unexpected end of file

Or, even better, continue using FILENAME":"FNR":", but output don't
prefix it with "awk: "; for example:

  awk: description of the syntax error or just "syntax error"
  gen_enum_h.awk:7:     if {(!ename)
  gen_enum_h.awk:7:        ^ syntax error 

  awk: description of the syntax error or just "syntax error"
  gen_enum_h.awk:7:8:     if {(!ename)
  gen_enum_h.awk:7:8:        ^ syntax error 

  awk: runtime error
  gen_enum_h.awk:82: fatal: attempt to use scalar `enums' as an array

  awk: fatal: attempt to use scalar `enums' as an array
  gen_enum_h.awk:82: content of the line here if available

Thank you!

o/
 emanuele6