Should I inherit from std::exception?

Question

I\'ve seen at least one reliable source (a C++ class I took) recommend that application-specific exception classes in C++ should inherit from std::exception. I\

Answer 1

Another reason to sub-class exceptions is a better design aspect when working on large encapsulated systems. You can reuse it for things such as validation messages, user queries, fatal controller errors and so on. Rather than rewriting or rehooking all of your validation like messages you can simply "catch" it on the main source file, but throw the error anywhere in your entire set of classes.

e.g. A fatal exception will terminate the program, a validation error will only clear the stack and a user query will ask the end-user a question.

Doing it this way also means you can reuse the same classes but on different interfaces. e.g. A windows application can use message box, a web service will show html and reporting system will log it and so on.