Coding by exception
Encyclopedia
Coding by exception is an anti-pattern
where software quickly degrades in performance and maintainability because it evolves by having special case functionality added piecemeal. This typically happens because an existing piece of software is extended to cover requirements that were not previously considered at the project's inception. This anti-pattern is unrelated to software exception handling
.
As a general rule, well designed software projects contain very few corner case
s. There are a variety of software development methodologies
that purport to help engineers develop software that avoid these corner cases. They typically address dependency management issues. Design patterns
are another tool for arriving at less of a 'one-off' solution.
Anti-pattern
In software engineering, an anti-pattern is a pattern that may be commonly used but is ineffective and/or counterproductive in practice.The term was coined in 1995 by Andrew Koenig,...
where software quickly degrades in performance and maintainability because it evolves by having special case functionality added piecemeal. This typically happens because an existing piece of software is extended to cover requirements that were not previously considered at the project's inception. This anti-pattern is unrelated to software exception handling
Exception handling
Exception handling is a programming language construct or computer hardware mechanism designed to handle the occurrence of exceptions, special conditions that change the normal flow of program execution....
.
As a general rule, well designed software projects contain very few corner case
Corner case
A corner case is a problem or situation that occurs only outside of normal operating parameters – specifically one that manifests itself when multiple environmental variables or conditions are simultaneously at extreme levels, even though each parameter is within the specified range for that...
s. There are a variety of software development methodologies
Software development process
A software development process, also known as a software development life cycle , is a structure imposed on the development of a software product. Similar terms include software life cycle and software process. It is often considered a subset of systems development life cycle...
that purport to help engineers develop software that avoid these corner cases. They typically address dependency management issues. Design patterns
Design pattern (computer science)
In software engineering, a design pattern is a general reusable solution to a commonly occurring problem within a given context in software design. A design pattern is not a finished design that can be transformed directly into code. It is a description or template for how to solve a problem that...
are another tool for arriving at less of a 'one-off' solution.