first-chance exception

first-chance exception (plural first-chance exceptions)

1. (programming) An exception (error condition) when handled by a debugger, such that the programmer has the first chance to study it; such an exception would otherwise proceed to a handler or (in its absence) crash the program.
   • 2006, Jay Hilyard, Stephen Teilhet, C# Cookbook:

     At this stage, the exception is considered a first-chance exception. Checking the checkbox in the Thrown column forces the debugger to intervene...

   • 2008, Dmitry Vostokov, Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 1:

     Here getting Early Crash Dump when a first-chance exception happens can help in component identification before corruption starts spreading across data.