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by first_amendment
3218 days ago
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A runtime exception is fine to handle. Like ENOENT, etc. these are expected and your program can be designed to handle these errors. A programming error is a sign that your program is not operating the way you expect. No correct program should ever call sqrt(-1) or overflow arithmetic. Outside of effectively aborting the process, what other way is there to safely handle a programming error (aka bug) when encountered? |
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You shouldn't call sqrt(-1) in C, and if you do, you abort. But maybe you are not supposed to call sqrt(20) either, because 20 is a sign your programmer did not understand the application. In that case, the programming error is still a correct program.
In languages like Python, or Lisp, there are a whole set of programming errors like dividing by zero, calling length on something that is not a sequence, etc. that are designed to not crash the system (nor make it inconsistent), in part because those errors can happen while developing the code and are just of way providing an interactive feedback.
Now, if you ship a product and there is a programming error that manifests itself while in production, you better not try anything stupid, I agree.