Question

C++ provides a syntax for checked exceptions, for example:

void G() throw(Exception);
void f() throw();

However, the Visual C++ compiler doesn’t check them; the throw flag is simply ignored. In my opinion, this renders the exception feature unusable. So my question is: is there a way to make the compiler check whether exceptions are correctly caught/rethrown? For example a Visual C++ plugin or a different C++ compiler.

PS. I want the compiler to check whether exceptions are correctly caught, otherwise you end up in a situation where you have to put a catch around every single function call you make, even if they explicitly state they won’t throw anything.

Update: the Visual C++ compiler does show a warning when throwing in a function marked with throw(). This is great, but regrettably, the warning doesn’t show up when you call a subroutine that might throw. For example:

void f() throw(int) { throw int(13); }
void h() throw() { g(); } //no warning here!

Answer 1

Exception specifications are pretty useless in C++.

It’s not enforced that no other exceptions will be thrown, but merely that the global function unexpected() will be called (which can be set)

Using exception specifications mainly boils down to deluding yourself (or your peers) into some false sense of security. Better to simply not bother.