Modern Error Handling

Error handling is a core challenge every C++ programmer must face—C-style error codes can be silently ignored, exceptions are restricted in embedded environments, and raw pointers lack clear semantics for representing "no value." Modern C++ provides type-safe alternatives like optional, variant, and expected. In this chapter, we review the evolution of error handling, master the use cases for each approach, and finally provide a scenario-based selection guide.

Chapter Contents

• Error Handling Evolution: From Error Codes to Type Safety
• Using optional for Error Handling
• std::expected<T, E>: Type-Safe Error Propagation
• Error Handling Patterns Summary: Selection Guide and Best Practices