Article

From:
To:
Raoul De Kezel
Subject:
Re: Exceptions vs Error codes
Newsgroup:
borland.public.delphi.objectpascal

Re: Exceptions vs Error codes

In article <✉forums.inprise.com>
	Raoul De Kezel <✉hotmail.com> wrote:

> In article <✉4ax.com>, ✉eircom.net says...
> > I'm far from certain that exceptions are the correct method for handling
> > database "errors", because database "errors" aren't really errors; they
> > are very much run-of-the-mill conditions that happen day-in day-out.
>  
> Precisely. They are exceptions to the standard behavior, and it
> therefore makes sense to report them with exceptions.

No, their not. A file-system error is an exception to run-of-the-mill
coding; you don't expect your .SaveToStream method to have to handle a
file-system running out of space.

On the other hand, a method/function/procedure that saved something to a database and didn't take care about key violations etc. and thus left the database in an invalid state, would be a pretty bad piece of code.
> It is somewhat common these days to read that exceptions should
> be used to report errors and only errors. This statement goes
> against every theory of exceptions. It is also usually void of
> any content because the precise meaning of "error" is unspecified.

"Error" isn't a word with an exact defined meaning; one man's error is
another man's event.

"Errors" with databases are to be expected, and must be dealt with. I honestly don't think exceptions are the correct mechanism for dealing with these events; for one thing, catching a raised exception eats up CPU cycles far more than a conditional check.
-- Barry
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Originally created by
Tamarack Associates
Wed, 09 Oct 2024 16:48:20 UTC
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