Embedded C++ : to use exceptions or not?

Question

I realize this may be subjective, so will ask a concrete question, but first, background:

I have always been an embedded software engineer, but usually at Layer 3

Answer 1

The choice of whether to use exceptions or not should really lie with whether they are going to fit your program's problem domain well or not.

I've used C++ exceptions extensively, both in retrofitting into old C code, and in some newer code. (HINT: Don't try to re-fit 20 year old C code that was written in a low memory environment with all manner of inconsistent exceptions. It's just a nightmare).

If your problem is one that lends itself to handling all the errors in one spot (say, a TCP/IP server of some sort, where every error condition is met with 'break down the connection and try again'), then exceptions are good - you can just throw an exception anywhere and you know where and how it will be handled.

If, on the other hand, your problem doesn't lend itself to central error handling, then exceptions are a ROYAL pain, because trying to figure out where something is (or should be) handled can easily become a Sisyphean task. And it's really hard to see the problem just by looking at the code. You instead have to look at the call trees for a given function and see where that function's exceptions are going to end up, in order to figure out if you have a problem.