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doc: improve unhandledException doc copy
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Rework the doc a bit to tighten it up, including removing the
use of `you`

Fix some line wrapping issues.

PR-URL: #5287
Reviewed-By: Roman Klauke <romaaan.git@gmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Sakthipriyan Vairamani <thechargingvolcano@gmail.com>

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jasnell authored and Myles Borins committed Mar 21, 2016
1 parent ba5e0b6 commit 70c872c
Showing 1 changed file with 36 additions and 32 deletions.
68 changes: 36 additions & 32 deletions doc/api/process.markdown
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -7,12 +7,13 @@ It is an instance of [`EventEmitter`][].

## Event: 'beforeExit'

This event is emitted when Node.js empties its event loop and has nothing else to
schedule. Normally, Node.js exits when there is no work scheduled, but a listener
for `'beforeExit'` can make asynchronous calls, and cause Node.js to continue.
This event is emitted when Node.js empties its event loop and has nothing else
to schedule. Normally, Node.js exits when there is no work scheduled, but a
listener for `'beforeExit'` can make asynchronous calls, and cause Node.js to
continue.

`'beforeExit'` is not emitted for conditions causing explicit termination, such as
[`process.exit()`][] or uncaught exceptions, and should not be used as an
`'beforeExit'` is not emitted for conditions causing explicit termination, such
as [`process.exit()`][] or uncaught exceptions, and should not be used as an
alternative to the `'exit'` event unless the intention is to schedule more work.

## Event: 'exit'
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -91,11 +92,12 @@ indefinitely) or upon process exit (more convenient for scripts).

## Event: 'uncaughtException'

Emitted when an exception bubbles all the way back to the event loop. If a
listener is added for this exception, the default action (which is to print
a stack trace and exit) will not occur.
The `'uncaughtException'` event is emitted when an exception bubbles all the
way back to the event loop. By default, Node.js handles such exceptions by
printing the stack trace to stderr and exiting. Adding a handler for the
`'uncaughtException'` event overrides this default behavior.

Example of listening for `'uncaughtException'`:
For example:

```js
process.on('uncaughtException', (err) => {
Expand All @@ -111,26 +113,27 @@ nonexistentFunc();
console.log('This will not run.');
```

Note that `'uncaughtException'` is a very crude mechanism for exception
handling.
### Warning: Using `'uncaughtException'` correctly

Do *not* use it as the Node.js equivalent of `On Error Resume Next`. An
unhandled exception means your application - and by extension Node.js itself -
is in an undefined state. Blindly resuming means *anything* could happen.
Note that `'uncaughtException'` is a crude mechanism for exception handling
intended to be used only as a last resort. The event *should not* be used as
an equivalent to `On Error Resume Next`. Unhandled exceptions inherently mean
that an application is in an undefined state. Attempting to resume application
code without properly recovering from the exception can cause additional
unforeseen and unpredictable issues.

Exceptions thrown from within the event handler will not be caught. Instead the
process will exit with a non zero exit code and the stack trace will be printed.
This is to avoid infinite recursion.

Think of resuming as pulling the power cord when you are upgrading your system.
Nine out of ten times nothing happens - but the 10th time, your system is bust.
Attempting to resume normally after an uncaught exception can be similar to
pulling out of the power cord when upgrading a computer -- nine out of ten
times nothing happens - but the 10th time, the system becomes corrupted.

`'uncaughtException'` should be used to perform synchronous cleanup before
shutting down the process. It is not safe to resume normal operation after
`'uncaughtException'`. If you do use it, restart your application after every
unhandled exception!

You have been warned.
The correct use of `'uncaughtException'` is to perform synchronous cleanup
of allocated resources (e.g. file descriptors, handles, etc) before shutting
down the process. It is not safe to resume normal operation after
`'uncaughtException'`.

## Event: 'unhandledRejection'

Expand All @@ -142,8 +145,8 @@ a promise chain. This event is useful for detecting and keeping track of
promises that were rejected whose rejections were not handled yet. This event
is emitted with the following arguments:

- `reason` the object with which the promise was rejected (usually an [`Error`][]
instance).
- `reason` the object with which the promise was rejected (usually an
[`Error`][] instance).
- `p` the promise that was rejected.

Here is an example that logs every unhandled rejection to the console
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -254,10 +257,10 @@ Note:

- `SIGUSR1` is reserved by Node.js to start the debugger. It's possible to
install a listener but that won't stop the debugger from starting.
- `SIGTERM` and `SIGINT` have default handlers on non-Windows platforms that resets
the terminal mode before exiting with code `128 + signal number`. If one of
these signals has a listener installed, its default behavior will be removed
(Node.js will no longer exit).
- `SIGTERM` and `SIGINT` have default handlers on non-Windows platforms that
resets the terminal mode before exiting with code `128 + signal number`. If
one of these signals has a listener installed, its default behavior will be
removed (Node.js will no longer exit).
- `SIGPIPE` is ignored by default. It can have a listener installed.
- `SIGHUP` is generated on Windows when the console window is closed, and on other
platforms under various similar conditions, see signal(7). It can have a
Expand All @@ -269,11 +272,12 @@ Note:
- `SIGINT` from the terminal is supported on all platforms, and can usually be
generated with `CTRL+C` (though this may be configurable). It is not generated
when terminal raw mode is enabled.
- `SIGBREAK` is delivered on Windows when `CTRL+BREAK` is pressed, on non-Windows
- `SIGBREAK` is delivered on Windows when `CTRL+BREAK` is pressed, on
non-Windows
platforms it can be listened on, but there is no way to send or generate it.
- `SIGWINCH` is delivered when the console has been resized. On Windows, this will
only happen on write to the console when the cursor is being moved, or when a
readable tty is used in raw mode.
- `SIGWINCH` is delivered when the console has been resized. On Windows, this
will only happen on write to the console when the cursor is being moved, or
when a readable tty is used in raw mode.
- `SIGKILL` cannot have a listener installed, it will unconditionally terminate
Node.js on all platforms.
- `SIGSTOP` cannot have a listener installed.
Expand Down

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