Try-Catch Blocks

In C++, Exceptions provide a structured way to handle runtime anomalies (like out-of-memory or file-not-found) by separating the error-detection code from the error-handling logic.

Propagation and Slicing

When an exception is thrown, the runtime searches up the call stack for a matching catch block. If caught by value, the exception object is copied into the catch parameter, which causes Object Slicing if the object is a derived exception type.

Code Walkthrough

Demonstrates safe usage of multiple catch blocks and hierarchical ordering.

#include <iostream>
#include <stdexcept>
void performDivision(int a, int b) {
    if (b == 0) {
        throw std::invalid_argument("Division by zero is undefined.");
    }
    std::cout << "Result: " << (a / b) << std::endl;
}
int main() {
    try {
        performDivision(10, 0);
    } catch (const std::invalid_argument& e) {
        // More specific exception caught first
        std::cerr << "Specific argument error: " << e.what() << std::endl;
    } catch (const std::exception& e) {
        // Base exception caught second
        std::cerr << "Generic exception caught: " << e.what() << std::endl;
    } catch (...) {
        // Catch-all block for non-standard exceptions
        std::cerr << "Unknown object thrown!" << std::endl;
    }
    return 0;
}

Interview-Relevant Information