Where did exceptions and exception handling come from?I like how .NET uses it, I like how C++ supports it (but libraries unfortunately use return code or is written in C instead). I know its pretty much standard in all new languages, but who designed it first or where did it come from?Is C++ the first language to use it? I don't know of any other that is older.
Who designed exceptions?
history;exceptions
Raising and trapping exceptions has been around for quite a time.   This site says exceptions were introduced in PL/I:  http://www.math.grin.edu/~rebelsky/Courses/CS302/98S/Outlines/outline.02.htmlwhich was in 1967, according to this page (includes an extensive but  not exhaustive chart of computer languages and features):  http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,22741,00.htmlMany languages picked up this technique -- ADA, ALGOL, FORTRAN, ML [...]Quoted from here.Wikipedia has more detail about exception handling in PL/1. That page also refers to PL/1 being the first. Of course, this is no scientific proof :-)As for who in person designed PL/1, the article mentions no names, only various committees at IBM.