In article 356162674@newshost, ross.canning@compucat.com.au (Ross Canning) writes:
>I understand that the C++ standard now includes the 'nothrow' modifier
>to specify that a 'new' is to return 0 if it fails rather than throw
>an exception.
>
>What is the status of set_new_handler()? Is it now obsolete?

The same as it has always been. If any version of operator new is unable
to find storage, it looks for an installed new_handler.

If there is a new_handler, operator new calls the handler and tries again
to get the requested memory. (This implies some things about what a
new_handler ought to do.)

If no new_handler is installed, operator new fails, either by throwing
a bad_alloc exception, or by returning a null pointer, depending on
whether is a normal or a no-throw version.

---
Steve Clamage, stephen.clamage@eng.sun.com
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ross.canning@compucat.com.au (Ross Canning) writes:

>I understand that the C++ standard now includes the 'nothrow' modifier
>to specify that a 'new' is to return 0 if it fails rather than throw
>an exception.
>
>What is the status of set_new_handler()? Is it now obsolete?

The set_new_handler() function still works.  It is not obsolete.  It is
useful if you want resumption semantics rather than termination
semantics (exceptions basically give you termination semantics).  For
example, a new handler could display an "Out of memory -- retry, abort,
fail?" message; then if the user selects retry, it could return, and if
the user selects abort, it could call exit(), and if the user selects
fail, it could throw a bad_alloc exception.  The new handler is called
for both the normal and the `nothrow' forms of `new' if they run out of
memory.  If the new handler throws, then the `nothrow' form of new will
return catch the exception and return 0.

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I understand that the C++ standard now includes the 'nothrow' modifier
to specify that a 'new' is to return 0 if it fails rather than throw
an exception.

What is the status of set_new_handler()? Is it now obsolete?
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