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Is it possible to change this code, with a return value and an exception:
public Foo Bar(Bar b)
{
if(b.Success)
{
return b;
}
else
{
throw n.Exception;
}
}
to this, which throws separate exceptions for success and failure
public Foo Bar(Bar b)
{
throw b.Success ? new BarException(b) : new FooException();
}
try
{
Bar(b)
}
catch(BarException bex)
{
return ex.Bar;
}
catch(FooException fex)
{
Console.WriteLine(fex.Message);
}
215
Since throwing and handling exceptions is expensive, we shouldn't use it for normal program flows. Instead, as its name implies, exceptions should only be used for exceptional cases. The complete source code can be found over on GitHub.
An application that uses exceptions is more robust than an application that uses return codes. An application that uses exceptions can also give the cleanest code, since return codes don't have to be checked after every call.
So we clearly see there is an extra cost for exception handling that increases the deeper the stack trace goes. This is because when an exception is thrown the runtime needs to search up the stack until it hits a method than can handle it. The further it has to look up the stack, the more work it has to do.
Return codes are more brittle The error is ignored when "returned", and will possibly explode later (i.e. a NULL pointer). The same problem won't happen with exception. The error won't be ignored.
Throwing an exception is definitely more expensive than returning a value. But in terms of raw cost it's hard to say how much more expensive an exception is.
When deciding on a return value vs. an exception you should always consider the following rule.
Only use exceptions for exceptional circumstances
They shouldn't ever be used for general control flow.
183
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