But how is requiring the programmer to know that he has to check error codes and whatnot any different from requiring the call be place in a try/catch block? M

But how is requiring the programmer to know that he has to check error codes and whatnot any different from requiring the call be place in a try/catch block? Most cases where exceptions are useful are when the alternative is knowingly causing such a state that will inevitably lead to a seg fault. It's much easier to raise at the point of failure instead of trying to limp until the application eventually crashes or loses you all your money.