There is no question that Visual Basic and other developers must learn new techniques to work in object-oriented environments such as .NET. With .NET and its associated Common Language Runtime [CLR], one such useful mechanism is exception handling.
Author, consultant and educator Jeffrey Richter recently spoke to SearchVB.com readers on just this topic. Richter is cofounder of Wintellect, one of the top firms teaching .NET and related technologies. He told site members that .NET exception handling has many benefits, including improved performance and easier debugging. Most importantly, CLR errors are reported via exceptions. And exceptions can't be ignored.
For developers versed in Win32 and COM, exception handling as applied to the CLR is a new thing, and there is no real workaround. With the earlier technologies, said Richter, Microsoft did not standardize on exceptions, feeling that the technique was too foreign to too many developers. The Common Language Specification (CLS) specifies that all languages must use exception handling, and it can be a handy means to create what Richter describes as "robust, maintainable object-oriented code."
Richter's presentation on exception handling is filled with examples. He teaches you the basics of creating your own custom exceptions, and he can guide you through the ins and outs of exception throwing, reporting, and the like, as well as depicting how exception frame blocks work. Check out the Webcast!
