Name: rmT116609 Date: 08/13/2001


java version "1.3.1"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.3.1-b24)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.3.1-b24, mixed mode)

While class java.io.PrintWriter has a checkError() method for retrieving the
internal error flag of the output stream, it does not have any corresponding
method for clearing (resetting) the error flag.

Error conditions are cumulative, with the undesirable consequence that once the
error flag is set, it can never be reset, even if the error condition has been
fixed or ignored as appropriate.

Classes that extend PrintWriter can't clear the error flag either, because the
flag is private.

Adding the following method to java.io.PrintWriter would fill this gap:

    public void clearError();

If this is considered too major a change, the method above could still be added
as a protected method (corresponding to the existing protected setError())
method, so at least classes extending PrintWriter would have a means to clear
the error flag.

--
Related bugs: 4219383
(Review ID: 129842)
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