First, Do No Harm: A Curricular Approach to Exceptions

This paper advocates the adoption of deferred error coding within computer science curricula. It argues that it is both a sound development strategy and aligns well pedagogically. By deferring specific error handling, the student better appreciates its subtleties and its importance as an independent topic. This paper also includes other topics which may enhance curricula: taxonomies of exceptions and exception handlers and the relationships between them, subtle pitfalls of exception handling, and factors influencing the selection of error reporting patterns. Much of the discussion is language independent, but specific attention is given to the Java checked exception controversy.