diff -ur curl-7.11.0/configure.ac curl-7.11.0-new/configure.ac
--- curl-7.11.0/configure.ac	2004-01-19 09:54:07.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/configure.ac	2004-02-28 15:04:57.000000000 +1100
@@ -1009,7 +1009,7 @@
     CPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS -DCURLDEBUG"
     CFLAGS="$CFLAGS -g" 
     if test "$GCC" = "yes"; then
-       CFLAGS="$CFLAGS -W -Wall -Wwrite-strings -pedantic -Wno-long-long -Wundef -Wpointer-arith -Wnested-externs"
+       CFLAGS="$CFLAGS -W -Wall -Wwrite-strings -pedantic -Wno-long-long -Wundef -Wpointer-arith -Wnested-externs -Werror"
     fi
     dnl strip off optimizer flags
     NEWFLAGS=""
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/docs/INTERNALS curl-7.11.0-new/docs/INTERNALS
--- curl-7.11.0/docs/INTERNALS	2002-02-28 19:01:08.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/docs/INTERNALS	2004-03-10 10:30:08.000000000 +1100
@@ -310,6 +310,11 @@
  them. They are best used when revealing information that isn't otherwise
  obvious.
 
+ You can also use the curl_easy_strerror function to translate CURLcode
+ values into human-readable error descriptions, or the curl_multi_strerror
+ function to translate CURLMcode values into human-readable error
+ descriptions.
+
 Client
 ======
 
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_getinfo.3 curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_getinfo.3
--- curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_getinfo.3	2003-12-19 03:16:19.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_getinfo.3	2004-02-28 17:32:48.000000000 +1100
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@
 If the operation was successful, CURLE_OK is returned. Otherwise an
 appropriate error code will be returned.
 .SH "SEE ALSO"
-.BR curl_easy_setopt "(3)"
+.BR curl_easy_setopt "(3),"
+.BR libcurl-errors "(3)"
 .SH BUGS
 Surely there are some, you tell me!
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_perform.3 curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_perform.3
--- curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_perform.3	2002-03-04 21:09:49.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_perform.3	2004-02-28 17:33:28.000000000 +1100
@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@
 there will be a readable error message in the error buffer when non-zero is
 returned.
 .SH "SEE ALSO"
-.BR curl_easy_init "(3), " curl_easy_setopt "(3), "
+.BR curl_easy_init "(3),"
+.BR curl_easy_setopt "(3),"
+.BR libcurl-errors "(3)"
 .SH BUGS
 Surely there are some, you tell me!
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_setopt.3 curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_setopt.3
--- curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_setopt.3	2004-01-22 20:15:37.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_setopt.3	2004-02-28 17:33:52.000000000 +1100
@@ -885,4 +885,6 @@
 error occurred as \fI<curl/curl.h>\fP defines. See the \fIlibcurl-errors.3\fP
 man page for the full list with descriptions.
 .SH "SEE ALSO"
-.BR curl_easy_init "(3), " curl_easy_cleanup "(3), "
+.BR curl_easy_init "(3),"
+.BR curl_easy_cleanup "(3),"
+.BR libcurl-errors "(3)"
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_formparse.3 curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_formparse.3
--- curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_formparse.3	2002-03-04 21:09:49.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_formparse.3	2004-02-28 17:34:17.000000000 +1100
@@ -16,3 +16,5 @@
 This has been removed deliberately. The \fBcurl_formadd\fP has been introduced
 to replace this function. Do not use this. Convert to the new function
 now. curl_formparse() will be removed from a future version of libcurl.
+.SH "SEE ALSO"
+.BR libcurl-errors "(3)"
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_global_init.3 curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_global_init.3
--- curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_global_init.3	2002-03-04 21:09:49.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_global_init.3	2004-02-28 17:34:35.000000000 +1100
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
 If this function returns non-zero, something went wrong and you cannot use the
 other curl functions.
 .SH "SEE ALSO"
-.BR curl_global_cleanup "(3), "
+.BR curl_global_cleanup "(3),"
+.BR libcurl-errors "(3)"
 .SH BUGS
 None.
-
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_add_handle.3 curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_add_handle.3
--- curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_add_handle.3	2002-03-08 18:54:05.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_add_handle.3	2004-02-28 17:29:54.000000000 +1100
@@ -17,4 +17,6 @@
 .SH RETURN VALUE
 CURLMcode type, general libcurl multi interface error code.
 .SH "SEE ALSO"
-.BR curl_multi_cleanup "(3)," curl_multi_init "(3)"
+.BR curl_multi_cleanup "(3),"
+.BR curl_multi_init "(3),"
+.BR libcurl-errors "(3)"
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_cleanup.3 curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_cleanup.3
--- curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_cleanup.3	2002-03-04 21:09:49.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_cleanup.3	2004-02-28 17:29:38.000000000 +1100
@@ -15,4 +15,7 @@
 .SH RETURN VALUE
 CURLMcode type, general libcurl multi interface error code.
 .SH "SEE ALSO"
-.BR curl_multi_init "(3)," curl_easy_cleanup "(3)," curl_easy_init "(3)"
+.BR curl_multi_init "(3),"
+.BR curl_easy_cleanup "(3),"
+.BR curl_easy_init "(3),"
+.BR libcurl-errors "(3)"
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_fdset.3 curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_fdset.3
--- curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_fdset.3	2002-10-15 18:39:30.000000000 +1000
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_fdset.3	2004-02-28 17:31:03.000000000 +1100
@@ -24,4 +24,6 @@
 .SH RETURN VALUE
 CURLMcode type, general libcurl multi interface error code.
 .SH "SEE ALSO"
-.BR curl_multi_cleanup "(3)," curl_multi_init "(3)"
+.BR curl_multi_cleanup "(3),"
+.BR curl_multi_init "(3),"
+.BR libcurl-errors "(3)"
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_perform.3 curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_perform.3
--- curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_perform.3	2002-12-03 23:40:13.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_perform.3	2004-02-28 17:31:36.000000000 +1100
@@ -33,4 +33,6 @@
 file descriptors, then it'll wait for action on them using select() and as
 soon as one or more of them are ready, \fIcurl_multi_perform\fP gets called.
 .SH "SEE ALSO"
-.BR curl_multi_cleanup "(3)," curl_multi_init "(3)"
+.BR curl_multi_cleanup "(3),"
+.BR curl_multi_init "(3),"
+.BR libcurl-errors "(3)"
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_remove_handle.3 curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_remove_handle.3
--- curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_remove_handle.3	2003-03-11 07:43:59.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/curl_multi_remove_handle.3	2004-02-28 17:32:04.000000000 +1100
@@ -20,4 +20,6 @@
 .SH RETURN VALUE
 CURLMcode type, general libcurl multi interface error code.
 .SH "SEE ALSO"
-.BR curl_multi_cleanup "(3)," curl_multi_init "(3)"
+.BR curl_multi_cleanup "(3),"
+.BR curl_multi_init "(3),"
+.BR libcurl-errors "(3)"
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/libcurl-errors.3 curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/libcurl-errors.3
--- curl-7.11.0/docs/libcurl/libcurl-errors.3	2003-12-19 03:16:19.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/docs/libcurl/libcurl-errors.3	2004-03-10 10:48:56.000000000 +1100
@@ -11,9 +11,12 @@
 .SH "CURLcode"
 Almost all "easy" interface functions return a CURLcode error code. No matter
 what, using \fICURLOPT_ERRORBUFFER\fP is a good idea as it will give you a
-human readable error string that may offer more details about the error cause
+human-readable error string that may offer more details about the error cause
 than just the error code does.
-
+.PP
+Alternatively, you can use the curl_easy_strerror function to obtain a
+human-readable string from the CURLcode value.
+.PP
 CURLcode is one of the following:
 .RS 0
 .IP "CURLE_OK (0)"
@@ -188,3 +191,13 @@
 .SH "CURLMcode"
 This is the generic return code used by functions in the libcurl multi
 interface.
+.PP
+You can use the curl_multi_strerror function to obtain a
+human-readable string from the CURLMcode value.
+
+.SH "CURLSHcode"
+This is the generic return code used by functions in the libcurl share
+interface.
+.PP
+You can use the curl_share_strerror function to obtain a
+human-readable string from the CURLSHcode value.
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/include/curl/curl.h curl-7.11.0-new/include/curl/curl.h
--- curl-7.11.0/include/curl/curl.h	2004-01-22 20:17:51.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/include/curl/curl.h	2004-03-10 10:38:52.000000000 +1100
@@ -228,6 +228,13 @@
                                                             OpenSSL SSL_CTX */
                                           void *userptr);
 
+/**
+  * The curl_easy_strerror function may be used to turn a CURLcode value
+  * into the equivalent human readable error string.  This is useful
+  * for printing meaningful error messages.
+  */
+const char *curl_easy_strerror(CURLcode);
+
 /* Make a spelling correction for the operation timed-out define */
 #define CURLE_OPERATION_TIMEDOUT CURLE_OPERATION_TIMEOUTED
 #define CURLE_HTTP_NOT_FOUND CURLE_HTTP_RETURNED_ERROR
@@ -1140,6 +1147,13 @@
   CURLSHE_LAST /* never use */
 } CURLSHcode;
 
+/**
+  * The curl_share_strerror function may be used to turn a CURLSHcode value
+  * into the equivalent human readable error string.  This is useful
+  * for printing meaningful error messages.
+  */
+const char *curl_share_strerror(CURLSHcode);
+
 typedef enum {
   CURLSHOPT_NONE,  /* don't use */
   CURLSHOPT_SHARE,   /* specify a data type to share */
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/include/curl/multi.h curl-7.11.0-new/include/curl/multi.h
--- curl-7.11.0/include/curl/multi.h	2004-01-09 08:56:50.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/include/curl/multi.h	2004-03-10 10:29:29.000000000 +1100
@@ -85,6 +85,14 @@
   CURLM_LAST
 } CURLMcode;
 
+
+/**
+  * The curl_multi_strerror function may be used to turn a CURLMcode
+  * value into the equivalent human readable error string.  This is
+  * useful for printing meaningful error messages.
+  */
+const char *curl_multi_strerror(CURLMcode);
+
 typedef enum {
   CURLMSG_NONE, /* first, not used */
   CURLMSG_DONE, /* This easy handle has completed. 'result' contains
diff -ur curl-7.11.0/lib/Makefile.am curl-7.11.0-new/lib/Makefile.am
--- curl-7.11.0/lib/Makefile.am	2004-01-06 09:29:32.000000000 +1100
+++ curl-7.11.0-new/lib/Makefile.am	2004-03-10 10:43:17.000000000 +1100
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@
 content_encoding.c content_encoding.h share.c share.h http_digest.c \
 md5.c md5.h http_digest.h http_negotiate.c http_negotiate.h \
 http_ntlm.c http_ntlm.h ca-bundle.h inet_pton.c inet_pton.h \
-strtoofft.c strtoofft.h
+strtoofft.c strtoofft.h curl_strerror.c curlm_strerror.c curlsh_strerror.c
 
 noinst_HEADERS = setup.h transfer.h