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From: Atle <trollet@skynet.be>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.beta
Subject: exceptions: (atle // confused (# again #) atle)
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2000 13:35:08 -0100
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Xref: news.cs.au.dk comp.lang.beta:12419

Eh ...
Could someone please explain to me the difference between 'handling an exception' and 'checking the return value'. This may seem
like a horrendous question, but C++ and Java has a ver strange program flow when doing exceptions. The C++/Java way resembles
processor interrupts, whereas Beta - well it looks like the 'old' way?
Here is the old way in pseudocode ( <> Not equals )

	returnValue := openFile('SomeFile.bet')
	IF returnValue <> OK
	THEN produceError(returnValue);
	ELSE
	{ do the normal processing.
	returnValue will be a legal file handle }
	ENDIF

This is opposed to 'installing error handlers' and then 'trying'. Beta seems to be in the middle between two extremes. The key seems
to lie in the returnValue semantics: I am used to seeing it as a 'value' (attribute), it will either be a legal file or some value
like -1, 0 and then some global variable, like errno will indicate what went wrong. I guess all of you know Pascal, I am used to the
IOResult way.
I was alienated by this syntax:

	try {
		strm = bufferedstreamandsomestuffandtotallyunreadable(filename, OPENFLAGS);
	}

	catch(...) {
		cout << "The program has been somewhere and crashed" <<
		" difficult to say if I should recover or what?";
	}
So, i know i will like the Beta way. But what way is it?

Thanks, Atle

(PS
I have read the short description of 'static exceptions', so what I am looking for, is an explanation in terms of the 'old :-) way'
and 'new :-( way'. And what is wrong with checking return values anyway?
Tell me which of the above is easier to read and program, which one, huh?
PS)