exception handler
Special code which is called when an {exception} occurs during
the execution of a program. If the programmer does not
provide a handler for a given exception, a built-in system
exception handler will usually be called resulting in abortion
of the program run and some kind of error indication being
returned to the user.
Examples of exception handler mechanisms are {Unix}'s signal
calls and {Lisp}'s {catch} and {throw}.
(1994-10-31)