Xept: a software instrumentation method for exception handling

Modern software systems are often built from existing library components. A common problem is how to fix bugs when source code is not available. Xept is an instrumentation language and tool that can be used to add to object code the ability to detect, mask, recover and propagate exceptions from library functions. This helps to alleviate or avoid a large class of errors resulting from function misuses. Examples are given to show applications of Xept in actual software systems.