Error code
number identifying categories of faults in a specific software application
In computing, an error code (or a return code) is a numeric or alphanumeric code that indicates the nature of an error and, when possible, why it occurred. Error codes can be reported to end users of software, returned from communication protocols, or used within programs as a method of representing anomalous conditions.
In consumer products
Error codes are commonly encountered on displays of consumer electronics to users in order to communicate or specify an error. They can also be indicated by lights or beeps, e.g., if a device does not have a display. They are commonly reported by consumer electronics when users bring electronics to perform tasks that they cannot do (e.g., dividing by zero), or when the program within a device encounters an anomalous condition.
Error codes reported by consumer electronics are used to help diagnose and repair technical problems. An error code can be communicated to relevant support staff to identify potential fixes, or can simplify research into the cause of an error.
There is no definitive format for error codes, meaning that error codes typically differ from/between products and or companies.
In computer programming
Error codes in computers can be passed to the system itself, to judge how to respond to the error. Often error codes come synonymous with an exit code or a return value.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Error code” as number identifying categories of faults in a specific software application. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as number identifying categories of faults in a specific software application. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1313852. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Error code” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.