Lesson plan
Fatal exception error
In computing, a fatal exception error or fatal error is an error that causes a program to abort (ABEND) and may therefore return the user to the operating system. When this happens, data that the program was processing may be lost. A fatal error is usually distinguished from a fatal system error (colloquially referred to in the MS Windows operating systems by the error message it produces as a "blue screen of death"). A fatal error occurs typically in any of the following cases: * An illegal instruction has been attempted * Invalid data or code has been accessed * An operation is not allowed in the current ring or CPU mode * A program attempts to divide by zero (only for integers; with the IEEE floating point standard, this creates an infinity instead). In some systems, such as macOS and Microsoft Windows, a fatal error causes the operating system to create a log entry or to save an image (core dump) of the process.
Article summary
In computing, a fatal exception error or fatal error is an error that causes a program to abort (ABEND) and may therefore return the user to the operating system. When this happens, data that the program was processing may be lost. A fatal error is usually distinguished from a fatal system error (colloquially referred to in the MS Windows operating systems by the error message it produces as a "blue screen of death"). A fatal error occurs typically in any of the following cases: * An illegal instruction has been attempted * Invalid data or code has been accessed * An operation is not allowed in the current ring or CPU mode * A program attempts to divide by zero (only for integers; with the IEEE floating point standard, this creates an infinity instead). In some systems, such as macOS and Microsoft Windows, a fatal error causes the operating system to create a log entry or to save an image (core dump) of the process.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.