Best way to define error codes/strings in Java?

Question

I am writing a web service in Java, and I am trying to figure out the best way to define error codes and their associated error strings. I need to have a nu

Answer 1

Just to keep flogging this particular dead horse- we've had good use of numeric error codes when errors are shown to end-customers, since they frequently forget or misread the actual error message but may sometimes retain and report a numeric value that can give you a clue to what actually happened.