From a0d4ae18ee4db64b0a8412638fe7b59878516e6a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Darren Schroeder <343840+fdncred@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2024 16:04:23 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] better error message for "sum", "product", and
 "sum_of_squares" (#14711)
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# Description

This PR tries to improve a few error messages.

### Before

![image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/58ab3ff6-baab-4075-8746-e83cb3acab14)

### After

![image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9653776a-371b-4454-b092-3cc49f1329cd)

 
# User-Facing Changes
<!-- List of all changes that impact the user experience here. This
helps us keep track of breaking changes. -->

# Tests + Formatting
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- `cargo fmt --all -- --check` to check standard code formatting (`cargo
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- `cargo test --workspace` to check that all tests pass (on Windows make
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# After Submitting
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---
 crates/nu-command/src/math/reducers.rs       | 8 ++++----
 crates/nu-command/src/math/variance.rs       | 6 +++---
 crates/nu-command/tests/commands/math/sum.rs | 4 +---
 3 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/math/reducers.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/math/reducers.rs
index 86d0f8d7e4..6bda6fa632 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/math/reducers.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/math/reducers.rs
@@ -111,8 +111,8 @@ pub fn sum(data: Vec<Value>, span: Span, head: Span) -> Result<Value, ShellError
             Value::Error { error, .. } => return Err(*error.clone()),
             other => {
                 return Err(ShellError::UnsupportedInput {
-                    msg: "Attempted to compute the sum of a value that cannot be summed"
-                        .to_string(),
+                    msg: format!("Attempted to compute the sum of a value '{}' that cannot be summed with a type of `{}`.",
+                        other.coerce_string()?, other.get_type()),
                     input: "value originates from here".into(),
                     msg_span: head,
                     input_span: other.span(),
@@ -150,8 +150,8 @@ pub fn product(data: Vec<Value>, span: Span, head: Span) -> Result<Value, ShellE
             Value::Error { error, .. } => return Err(*error.clone()),
             other => {
                 return Err(ShellError::UnsupportedInput {
-                    msg: "Attempted to compute the product of a value that cannot be multiplied"
-                        .to_string(),
+                    msg: format!("Attempted to compute the product of a value '{}' that cannot be multiplied with a type of `{}`.",
+                        other.coerce_string()?, other.get_type()),
                     input: "value originates from here".into(),
                     msg_span: head,
                     input_span: other.span(),
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/math/variance.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/math/variance.rs
index 8422009230..91128e36cd 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/math/variance.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/math/variance.rs
@@ -90,9 +90,9 @@ fn sum_of_squares(values: &[Value], span: Span) -> Result<Value, ShellError> {
         let v = match &value {
             Value::Int { .. } | Value::Float { .. } => Ok(value),
             Value::Error { error, .. } => Err(*error.clone()),
-            _ => Err(ShellError::UnsupportedInput {
-                msg: "Attempted to compute the sum of squares of a non-int, non-float value"
-                    .to_string(),
+            other => Err(ShellError::UnsupportedInput {
+                msg: format!("Attempted to compute the sum of squares of a non-int, non-float value '{}' with a type of `{}`.",
+                        other.coerce_string()?, other.get_type()),
                 input: "value originates from here".into(),
                 msg_span: span,
                 input_span: value.span(),
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/math/sum.rs b/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/math/sum.rs
index 048a12e9e3..020ce552c9 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/math/sum.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/math/sum.rs
@@ -73,9 +73,7 @@ fn sum_of_a_row_containing_a_table_is_an_error() {
         cwd: "tests/fixtures/formats/",
         "open sample-sys-output.json | math sum"
     );
-    assert!(actual
-        .err
-        .contains("Attempted to compute the sum of a value that cannot be summed"));
+    assert!(actual.err.contains("can't convert record"));
 }
 
 #[test]