Hi Barry,


I agree with your bottom line.
A quick summary footnote from my side:


- Firstly I was trying to describe the special fault tolerance
requirements typically faced by my applications.


- Secondly I postulated that exceptions make it more difficult to
guarantee this sort of fail safety. This is the core issue, which we
still do not agree on. I must say though, that on my next major
development project (starting this fall) I will take what I've learnt
from you very much into account in strengthening my error handling
system.


I *do* accept that most Delphi/Windows applications are typically not
subject to such rigorous fault tolerance requirements, and that therefore
my error handling strategy is more "paranoid" than most. I also accept
that this will mean "struggling against the tide" in many cases, whether
I "embrace" exceptions or not.


Finally I wish to say, that when applied in a purist way, both approaches
are IMO sufficient to create perfectly safe and robust code. In the real
world, however, different programming styles meet each other and have to
coexist within one software program. That is where the ugliness, and more
importantly: technical risk, comes into play, when one programmer raises
an argument of style against another (not in words, but in program code).


I've enjoyed this little revival of our debate. Later on I may return to
this topic, but not without new insights.


Kristofer