More Patterns for the Generation, Handling and Management of Errors
Andy Longshaw, Eóin Woods · 2005
As systems become more complex it is increasingly difficult to anticipate and handle error conditions in a system. The developers of the system must ensure that errors do not cause problems for the users of the system. To do so, they should Keep Exceptions Exceptional, Hide Technical Details from Users and encapsulate the system in a Big Outer Try Block. The administrators must be informed when an error occurs and must be given sufficient information about what happened, where it happened and why it happened. If a system has Split Domain and Technical Errors and its components only Log Unexpected Errors then the level of error information can stay manageable. If distributed systems Log at Distribution Boundaries then the overall error information in the system can be reduced and the consequences of individual errors can be tied together using a Unique Error Identifier.