[openssl-users] FIPS, continuous tests, and error reporting

[Salz, Rich]

> For instance, any of the void DES_*_encrypt().  This cursory observation is
> also supported by a vendor application code such as:

Ah, okay.  Those functions are 'just math'  They depend on no external state.  They can't fail.  It's shifts and masking, etc.

> This is basically why I'm wondering about how errors propagate in the
> OpenSSL library.

Functions that can fail return a status.  Those that are just math are often void. There's an "error stack" where functions can put more detailed status, and it propagates; see ERR_get_error, ERR_clear_error, etc., for details.