2. Handling problems within a program

• The code could use an if statements to handle an exception:

  
      int result = method( parameters );
      if ( result == ERROR_CODE_A ) {
          // handle the problem A
      } else if ( result == ERROR_CODE_B ) {
          // handle the problem B
      } else {
          // no errors detected
      }
  
  

• However, using the if statements may not be the most effective solution:

  • primarily, because the code that detects the error often cannot handle it;

  • secondarily, because a large number of error-related ifs will easily

    • obscure the main flow of the program logic

    • make the program hard to understand and maintain

    • introduce new logical problems

• The exception mechanism is an object-oriented alternative.