C++ Coding Standards: 101 Rules, Guidelines, and Best Practices

62. Don’t allow exceptions to propagate across module boundaries

Summary

Don’t throw stones into your neighbor’s garden: There is no ubiquitous binary standard for C++ exception handling. Don’t allow exceptions to propagate between two pieces of code unless you control the compiler and compiler options used to build both sides; otherwise, the modules might not support compatible implementations for exception propagation. Typically, this boils down to: Don’t let exceptions propagate across module/subsystem boundaries.

Discussion

The C++ Standard does not specify the way exception propagation has to be implemented, and there isn’t even a de facto standard respected by most systems. The mechanics of exception propagation vary not only with the ...