Structured error-handling is an expansion of the original ABL error handling features, which are now referred to as traditional error handling features. While the new language features do provide you with a more robust error handling model, they coexist and inter-operate with the traditional error handling features. Existing code will continue to work as is, and code using the new model can work with this existing code.
Structured error-handling is a model used in many languages, but is typically associated with object-oriented languages. It is characterized by the following features:
Represents all errors as objects (instances of a class)
Allows you to define your own error types (classes)
Allows you to explicitly raise (throw) an error
Allows you to handle (catch) particular error types in a particular context (ABL block)
Allows you to propagate (re-throw) errors from the current context (inner block) to the immediate outer context (outer block). In other words, when an error occurs in a called context, you can direct the calling context to handle the error
Allows you to specify code that executes at the conclusion of some associated code, whether or not the associated code executed successfully (FINALLY block)
For more information, see the guide OpenEdge Development: Error Handling.
Represents all errors as objects (instances of a class)