Re: [Boost-users] [exception, serialization] transporting exceptions

Subject: Re: [Boost-users] [exception, serialization] transporting exceptions
From: Emil Dotchevski (emildotchevski_at_[hidden])
Date: 2012-10-05 18:45:12

On Fri, Oct 5, 2012 at 2:10 PM, Brian Budge <brian.budge_at_[hidden]> wrote:
>
> Hi all -
>
> I like that boost::exception provides a mechanism to copy exceptions.
> This can be used to transport an exception across thread boundaries,
> which is nice.  I'm running  a program that can optionally start nodes
> using MPI to do back-end computations.  I'd like to be able to "copy"
> the exception from one node to another.  Are there any existing tools
> for something like a serialization of these kinds of exceptions?  In
> non-MPI mode, I'd like to transport the exception across thread
> boundaries, pass it through some functions (causing actions to be
> taken along the way), and then finally to rethrow the exception.  In
> MPI mode I want all of that PLUS, in place of one of the function
> calls, I'd like to transport the exception across MPI in some way.
>
> Are there any semi-automatic tools already in existence that will get
> me this (or close)?  Or do I need to implement boost serialization for
> my entire exception hierarchy?  If I do the latter, it seems I will
> need to operator new the exception, and will not easily be able to
> know when I can delete in a catch?

I'm not aware of any existing tools but in principle it could be done.
It would require registering the permissible exception types with a
serialization library, then serializing them through a pointer to a
base type that you catch. Keep in mind that at the point of the catch,
the static type by which you're referring to the exception object may
not have an accessible copy constructor.

Emil Dotchevski
Reverge Studios, Inc.
http://www.revergestudios.com/reblog/index.php?n=ReCode