From: David Garamond <lists@...6.isreserved.com>
Date: 2004-01-27T14:54:11+09:00
Subject: storing message in exception object

I found myself using exception object (instead of ) more and more. They 
are convenient for storing detailed information bits about the error 
(pointer to an object structure/within an object structure, some flags, 
etc).

Since RCR 21[1] (New method: Exception#message=) was rejected, can 
anyone suggest a more elegant way of doing the thing below. I don't like 
having to set the message everytime. The message will be the same most 
of the time anyway, since more detailed information can be found in the 
attributes of the exception object. So I'd like to store the message in 
the exception object "template" and change them occassionally when needed.

  class SomeError < StandardError
    attr_accessor :foo, :bar, :baz
    def initialize(foo, bar, baz)
      @foo = foo
      @bar = bar
      @baz = baz
    end
  end

  # a 'template' exception object
  err = SomeError.new(1, 2, 3)

  # do stuffs
  # ...
  e.foo = 123
  raise e, "Invalid gux!"

  # do other stuffs
  # ...
  e.foo = 234
  e.bar = "some bar"
  raise e, "Invalid gux!"

  # yet other stuffs
  # ...
  e.baz = "some bar"
  raise e, "Invalid gux!"

  # yet other stuffs... this time we want a slightly different message
  # ...
  e.foo = -1
  e.bar = "another bar"
  raise e, "Totally invalid gux, dude!"

[1] http://www.rcrchive.net/rgarchive/rejected.html#rcr21

-- 
dave