Recommendations (or best practices) to define functions (or methods)

[Frank Millman]

Martin v. Löwis wrote:
> vizcayno schrieb:
> > Need your help in the "correct" definition of the next function. If
> > necessary, I would like to know about a web site or documentation that
> > tells me about best practices in defining functions, especially for
> > those that consider the error exceptions management.
>
> I agree with George Sakkis' remarks. The best way to define this function is
>
> def ExecuteSQL(cmdSQL, cursor):
>   return cursor.execute(cmdSQL)
>
> If this raises an exception, it likely means there is something
> wrong with the SQL statement. The program should abort, and the
> developer should correct it.
>
> Regards,
> Martin

With respect, I can offer a counter-argument.

I have a multi-user server program, with a connection to a database,
servicing multiple requests from connected clients.

The clients are 'thin' - the business logic resides on the server - so
when a client selects an option, the server imports the appropriate
module and executes it. If that includes a SQL command, the server
connects to the database, executes the command, and returns the result
to the client.

If there is something wrong with the SQL statement, I do not want to
crash the server, I want to notify the client that there was something
wrong, so that the offending module can be corrected and reloaded.

Frank Millman