C++ - Arguments for Exceptions over Return Codes

Question

I\'m having a discussion about which way to go in a new C++ project. I favor exceptions over return codes (for exceptional cases only) for the following reasons -

Answer 1

Use what makes sense. I think both have a place. There are situations where error codes are nearly impossible to use (returning failure from a constructor, for example)

Other times, error codes are just more convenient. They're easier to deal with in cases where you expect them to happen. Exceptions are for exceptional errors - the ones that aren't supposed to happen, but might do so once in a blue moon. Error codes are a lot more convenient for errors that are expected to happen regularly, and can be handled locally. Exceptions are most useful in cases where the error must be handled further up the call stack.

Also, exceptions aren't necessarily faster in the non-exceptional case. Often, they require extra exception handling code in function prolog and epilogs which has to be executed every time the function is called, whether or not it throws an exception.