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What is the "terminate" function in C++, and how to customize its behavior?

Sandra Emily13016-Aug-2023

What is the "terminate" function in C++, and how to customize its behavior?

visual c++c++ functions 
Updated on 17-Aug-2023
Sandra Emily

Sandra Emily

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Aryan Kumar

Aryan Kumar

17-Aug-2023

The terminate() function in C++ is called by the C++ runtime when the program cannot continue for any of the following reasons:

  • An exception is thrown and not caught.
  • A destructor throws an exception and that exception is not caught.
  • The constructor or destructor of a nonlocal static object throws an exception and that exception is not caught.
  • A function registered with atexit() throws an exception and that exception is not caught.

The terminate() function does not return. It simply calls the function pointed to by the terminate_handler variable. By default, the terminate_handler variable points to the abort() function, which exits the program.

To customize the behavior of the terminate() function, you can set the terminate_handler variable to a different function. The function that you set should take no arguments and return no value.

Here is an example of how to customize the behavior of the terminate() function:

C++

#include <iostream>
#include <exception>

using namespace std;

void my_terminate_handler() {
  cout << "The program has terminated due to an unrecoverable error." << endl;
  exit(1);
}

int main() {
  set_terminate(my_terminate_handler);

  // This will cause the program to terminate and print a message
  throw std::runtime_error("An unrecoverable error has occurred.");

  return 0;
}

In this example, we have set the terminate_handler variable to the my_terminate_handler() function. The my_terminate_handler() function simply prints a message and then exits the program.

It is important to note that the terminate() function should only be used as a last resort. It should be used when the program cannot continue in any way. If you use the terminate() function too often, it can make your program difficult to debug.

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