Is AddVectoredExceptionHandler a replacement for SetUnhandledExceptionFilter?

Question

Some resources seem to suggest that instead of using SetUnhandledExceptionFilter to catch unhandled exceptions, one could use AddVectoredExceptionHandler to be notified of all exceptions.

However, as far as I can understand, a vectored handler is "just" called for each and every (SEH) exception raised in the program, prior to determining whether or not or where the exception will be handled.

Am I missing anything?

Answer 1

Good comment:

It is not [a replacement], the callback doesn't promise anything about the exception getting handled. That happens later. It is, at best, useful as a diagnostic tool to troubleshoot problems with a program that contains too many try/catch-em-all statements. Compare to the .NET AppDomain.FirstChanceException event, the kind of feature that requires AVEH.

– Hans Passant

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That being said - and after re-reading the docs I do agree - I think the "confusion", if you will, in the original question I linked to, may stem from the original question that stated

it should catch & properly handle all access violation exceptions which occur in the process

which of course you could use a vectored exception handler for, that is, you could intercept all 0xC0000005 via an VEH, but you'd have no clue whether the code around this may actually catch and handle it -- and, at a low level or for specific cases, catching an Access Violation and continuing at the catch site is a valid approach.

So, as Hans says, it is at best, useful as a diagnostic tool.

Or, phrased another way, a Vectored Exception Handler does NOT catch exceptions, if you interpret "catching" an exception in the sense the catch and __except catch a raised exception at a higher level.

The VectoredHandler only supports EXCEPTION_CONTINUE_SEARCH: find a handler and EXCEPTION_CONTINUE_EXECUTION: the use of which I never quite grasped.