note 68712 added to function.set-exception-handler

A behaviour not documented or discussed enough, yet pretty common is that is that if an exception is thrown from the global exception handler then a fatal error occurs (Exception thrown without a stack frame). That is, if you define your own global exception handler by calling set_exception_handler() and you throw an exception from inside it then this fatal error occurs. It is only natural though, as the callback defined by set_exception_handler() is only called on uncaught (unhandled) exceptions so if you throw one from there then you get this fatal error as there is no exception handler left (you override the php internal one by calling set_exception_handler()), hence no stack frame for it. Example: <?php function myExceptionHandler (Exception $ex) { throw $ex; } set_exception_handler("myExceptionHandler"); throw new Exception("This should cause a fatal error and this message will be lost"); ?> Will cause a Fatal error: Exception thrown without a stack frame If you skip/comment the set_exception_handler("...") line then the internal PHP global handler will catch the exception and output the exception message and trace (as string) to the browser, allowing you to at least see the exception message. While it is a very good idea to always define your own global exception handler by using the set_exception_handler() function, you should pay attention and never throw an exception from it (or if you do then catch it). Finally, every serious coder should use an IDE with debugging capabilities. Tracking down an error like this becomes a trivial matter by using simple debugging "Step into" commands (I for one recommend Zend IDE v5.2 at the moment of this writing). I have seen numerous messages on the internet with people wondering why this message pops up. Cheers p.s. Other causes for this error which are somehow unrelated to this is when you throw an exception from a destructor (the reasons behind that are similar though, the global handler might no longer exist due to the php engine shutting the page down). ---- Server IP: 66.163.161.117 Probable Submitter: 82.231.160.66 ---- X-Spam-Status: No, hits=3.1 required=5.0 tests=DATE_MISSING,FROM_NO_LOWER autolearn=no version=2.64 ---- Manual Page -- http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.set-exception-handler.php Edit -- https://master.php.net/note/edit/68712 Del: integrated -- https://master.php.net/note/delete/68712/integrated Del: useless -- https://master.php.net/note/delete/68712/useless Del: bad code -- https://master.php.net/note/delete/68712/bad+code Del: spam -- https://master.php.net/note/delete/68712/spam Del: non-english -- https://master.php.net/note/delete/68712/non-english Del: in docs -- https://master.php.net/note/delete/68712/in+docs Del: other reasons-- https://master.php.net/note/delete/68712 Reject -- https://master.php.net/note/reject/68712 Search -- https://master.php.net/manage/user-notes.php