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Exceptions or return codes?
- LogicHoleFlaw 18y agoThis blog post fails the "well-reasoned argument" test: Pros of Return Codes: 1) Return codes are typed 2) Return codes are cleaner than exceptions and can have additional associated data 3) Exceptions are easy to ignore 4) Return codes integrate well with third-party code (how would you use Exceptions and not blow your client's call stack?) Error handling is hard, let's go shopping.
- russell 18y agoThe blog references Spolsky who has marked it expired. Perhaps he has changed his mind. Problems with error codes: Too easy to ignore. Errors and normal return codes get mixed. Often difficult to pick a distinguished error value, 0, -1? Problems with exceptions: Too easy to ignore. How often do you find empty exceptions? Too many types of exceptions, The Java libraries are particularly guilty of this. Adding a checked exception can break code all over the universe.