C++ has an mechanism for throwing exceptions. Many other languages have this feature as well. One interesting way that exception handing varies from one language to another is what type of "thing" can be thrown. Java, for example, has a class called Exception (specifically, java.lang.Exception). The only things you an "throw" in Java are objects of type Exception (or of types that are derived via inheritance from Exception). What is the case for C++-i.e., what kind of value can be "thrown" in C++