C. Standard Errors

Here is the complete list of the error symbols in standard Emacs, grouped by concept. The list includes each symbol’s message (on the error-message property of the symbol) and a cross reference to a description of how the error can occur.

Each error symbol has an error-conditions property that is a list of symbols. Normally this list includes the error symbol itself and the symbol error. Occasionally it includes additional symbols, which are intermediate classifications, narrower than error but broader than a single error symbol. For example, all the errors in accessing files have the condition file-error.

As a special exception, the error symbol quit does not have the condition error, because quitting is not considered an error.

See section Errors, for an explanation of how errors are generated and handled.

symbol: string; reference.
error: "error"
See section Errors.
quit: "Quit"
See section Quitting.
args-out-of-range: "Args out of range"
See section Sequences, Arrays, and Vectors.
arith-error: "Arithmetic error"
See / and % in Numbers.
beginning-of-buffer: "Beginning of buffer"
See section Motion.
buffer-read-only: "Buffer is read-only"
See section Read-Only Buffers.
cyclic-function-indirection: "Symbol's chain of function indirections contains a loop"
See section Symbol Function Indirection.
domain-error: "Arithmetic domain error"
end-of-buffer: "End of buffer"
See section Motion.
end-of-file: "End of file during parsing"
This is not a file-error.
See section Input Functions.
file-error: This error and its subcategories do not have error-strings, because the error message is constructed from the data items alone when the error condition file-error is present.
See section Files.
file-locked: This is a file-error.
See section File Locks.
file-already-exists: This is a file-error.
See section Writing to Files.
file-supersession: This is a file-error.
See section Comparison of Modification Time.
invalid-byte-code: "Invalid byte code"
See section Byte Compilation.
invalid-function: "Invalid function"
See section Classification of List Forms.
invalid-read-syntax: "Invalid read syntax"
See section Input Functions.
invalid-regexp: "Invalid regexp"
See section Regular Expressions.
mark-inactive: "The mark is not active now"
no-catch: "No catch for tag"
See section Explicit Nonlocal Exits: catch and throw.
overflow-error: "Arithmetic overflow error"
protected-field: "Attempt to modify a protected field"
range-error: "Arithmetic range error"
search-failed: "Search failed"
See section Searching and Matching.
setting-constant: "Attempt to set a constant symbol"
See section Variables that Never Change.
singularity-error: "Arithmetic singularity error"
tooltalk-error: "ToolTalk error"
See section ToolTalk Support.
undefined-keystroke-sequence: "Undefined keystroke sequence"
void-function: "Symbol's function definition is void"
See section Accessing Function Cell Contents.
void-variable: "Symbol's value as variable is void"
See section Accessing Variable Values.
wrong-number-of-arguments: "Wrong number of arguments"
See section Classification of List Forms.
wrong-type-argument: "Wrong type argument"
See section Type Predicates.

These error types, which are all classified as special cases of arith-error, can occur on certain systems for invalid use of mathematical functions.

domain-error: "Arithmetic domain error"
See section Standard Mathematical Functions.
overflow-error: "Arithmetic overflow error"
See section Standard Mathematical Functions.
range-error: "Arithmetic range error"
See section Standard Mathematical Functions.
singularity-error: "Arithmetic singularity error"
See section Standard Mathematical Functions.
underflow-error: "Arithmetic underflow error"
See section Standard Mathematical Functions.

[ << ]

[ >> ]

[Top]

[Contents]

[Index]

[ ? ]

This document was generated on September 25, 2026 using texi2html 1.82.