Re: Exception Handling

[kilgallen@eisner.decus.org (Larry Kilgallen)]

In article <323855BA.5246@hamilton.edu>, Rick Decker <rdecker@hamilton.edu> writes:

> BTW, PL/I is usually credited for first using exceptions, though
> rudimentary forms existed as far back as COBOL.

When the VAX came out in 1978, it had exceptions built into the
instruction set, and handling them had to be built into the
languages (even if in a clunky fashion).

Before there were Bliss-32 and Bliss-16 with comprehensive
exception handling, there were Bliss-36 and Bliss-11 which
may or may not have had support for exception handling.
I was under the impression that Bliss was originated at
Carnegie Mellon University by the person who went on to
found Tartan Labs.

Presuming application-specific stack-based handling of exceptions
was not a new concept introduced with the VAX, one might want to
follow the hardware trail back to see what non-standard language
support was provided. I don't think the original request nor the
clarification of purpose said anything about the support being in
standardized languages, and in fact that would seem to be the
opposite of giving credit to the true originators.

Larry Kilgallen