I was responding to your scenario of having to “add error checking to every line of code” due to the absence of an exception mechanism, and your assertion that “it's too much work for too little reward”. My point was that in that situation (no exception mechanism available) it’s often irresponsible to not do that work, because the possible consequences are unpredictable. I fully agree that having an exception mechanism is the way to go, so that adding error checks every other line isn’t necessary anymore.