C++ Primer Plus

The exception Class

The main intent for C++ exceptions is to provide language-level support for designing fault-tolerant programs. That is, exceptions make it easier to incorporate error handling into a program design so you don’t have to tack on some more rigid form of error handling as an afterthought. The flexibility and relative convenience of exceptions should encourage programmers to integrate fault handling into the program design process, if appropriate. In short, exceptions are the kind of feature that, like classes, can modify your approach to programming.

Newer C++ compilers are incorporating exceptions into the language. For example, the exception header file (formerly exception.h or except.h) defines an exception class that C++ uses ...