Andrew P. Black (Portland State University). Exception Handling: The Case Against.

In the early 1980s, Andrew Black wrote his doctoral dissertation at Oxford University; the title was "Exception Handling: The Case Against". The thesis was in part a reaction to the growing complexity of language design, epitomized by the contemporary proposals for what became Ada. The case that the thesis made against exception handling was that (a) exceptions are not an abstract concept capable of rigorous definition, but a subjective classification of program behaviour, and that (b) such a classification could usually be carried out by general-purpose language constructs more effectively than by a special purpose exception handling mechanism.

In this talk, Professor Black, will re-examine this argument in the light of more than twenty years of experience, and attempt to convince you that the remainder of this workshop should be cancelled. Ample time will be allowed for questions and discussion.