C++ Exception Handling

C++ Exception Handling is a mechanism that allows you to handle and manage runtime errors or exceptional situations in a controlled manner. Exceptions are used to handle unexpected or exceptional conditions that occur during program execution and may cause the program to terminate abnormally. By using exception handling, you can catch and handle these exceptions, preventing the program from crashing and providing a graceful way to recover or terminate the program safely.

The key components of exception handling in C++ are:

1. try block: The try block is used to enclose the code that may throw an exception. It is followed by one or more catch blocks.

2. catch block: The catch block is used to catch and handle specific exceptions thrown within the corresponding try block. Each catch block can handle a specific type of exception or a base class of exceptions.

3. throw statement: The throw statement is used to explicitly raise an exception. It can be used within the try block or within a function to indicate an exceptional condition.

Here's an example that demonstrates the usage of exception handling in C++:

#include 

double divide(int numerator, int denominator) {
    if (denominator == 0) {
        throw "Division by zero error";  // Throwing an exception
    }
    return static_cast(numerator) / denominator;
}

int main() {
    int a = 10;
    int b = 0;

    try {
        double result = divide(a, b);  // Potential exception-causing code
        std::cout << "Result: " << result << std::endl;
    } catch (const char* error) {
        std::cerr << "Exception caught: " << error << std::endl;
    }

    return 0;
}

In the example above, the divide() function performs division between two integers. If the denominator is zero, it throws an exception using the throw statement. The main() function calls divide() within a try block, and a corresponding catch block catches the exception. If the exception is caught, an error message is displayed.

Exception handling allows you to gracefully handle exceptional situations and control the flow of your program. It provides an alternative path for execution when an exception occurs, allowing you to perform cleanup operations, display error messages, or take corrective actions.

C++ also supports handling multiple types of exceptions and creating custom exception classes by deriving from the standard std::exception class or its derived classes.

By using exception handling effectively, you can make your code more robust, maintainable, and error-tolerant. It helps in separating error-handling code from the normal flow of the program, making the code cleaner and more readable.