Data structures Quote by Scott Meyers
““Other than when dealing with exception-unsafe legacy code (which we'll discuss later in this Item), offering no exception safety guarantee should be an option only if your crack team of requirements analysts has identified a need for your application to leak resources and run with corrupt data structures. As””
About This Quote
Source Book: Effective C++ (Third Edition), 2005
Avoid promising exception safety unless the system can guarantee resource integrity; otherwise, risk leaks and corruption.
In simple terms: Only guarantee exception safety when you can ensure clean resource handling.
Key Takeaway
Ensure resource safety before offering exception guarantees.
Themes
software reliability
exception handling
resource management
programming best practices
Mood
cautious
technical
Type
programming advice
technical commentary
When to use this quote
- system design
- code review
- critical systems development
Key Concepts
RAII
error handling
software design
Questions to Reflect On
- Do you have mechanisms to clean up after exceptions?
- When is it acceptable to for exception safety?
A Different Perspective
Guaranteeing safety without proper mechanisms leads to instability.
![“If you don't handle [exceptions], we shut your application down. That dramatically increases the reliability of the system.” quote by Anders Hejlsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fe1/anders-hejlsberg-65118_application_if-you-don-t-handle-exceptions-we-shut-y_2709226.jpg)
![“Database Management System [Origin: Data + Latin basus "low, mean, vile, menial, degrading, ounterfeit."] A complex set of interrelational data structures allowing data to be lost in many convenient sequences while retaining a complete record of the logical relations between the missing items…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ae6/stan-kelly-bootle-2-182441_computer_database-management-system-origin-data-l_248843.jpg)
