When is a C++ terminate handler the Right Thing(TM)?
- by Joseph Garvin
The C++ standard provides the std::set_terminate function which lets you specify what function std::terminate should actually call. std::terminate should only get called in dire circumstances, and sure enough the situations the standard describes for when it's called are dire (e.g. an uncaught exception). When std::terminate does get called the situation seems analagous to being out of memory -- there's not really much you can sensically do.
I've read that it can be used to make sure resources are freed -- but for the majority of resources this should be handled automatically by the OS when the process exits (e.g. file handles). Theoretically I can see a case for if say, you needed to send a server a specific message when exiting due to a crash. But the majority of the time the OS handling should be sufficient.
When is using a terminate handler the Right Thing(TM)?
Update: People interested in what can be done with custom terminate handlers might find this non-portable trick useful.
