Avoid exceptions

style.md

@@ -301,8 +301,7 @@ arena.reset();  // Reset arena memory
 
 ### Error Reporting
 - **Return codes** for expected errors
-- **Exceptions** only for exceptional circumstances
-- **fprintf + abort()** for unrecoverable errors
+- **Avoid exceptions** - If we can't uphold the component's contract, perror/fprintf then abort. If we want to try to recover, change the component's contract to allow returning an error code.
 - **Error messages are for humans only** - never parse error message strings programmatically
 - **Error codes are the contract** - use enums/codes for programmatic error handling
 ```cpp
@@ -317,9 +316,13 @@ if (result == ParseResult::InvalidJson) {
 // Bad: Don't test or parse error message strings
 // CHECK(parser.get_error() == "Expected '}' at line 5");  // BRITTLE!
 
-if (!memory) {
-  std::fprintf(stderr, "ArenaAllocator: Failed to allocate memory\n");
-  std::abort();
+// System resource failures: abort immediately
+void ArenaAllocator::allocate() {
+  void* memory = malloc(size);
+  if (!memory) {
+    perror("malloc");
+    std::abort();  // Process is likely in bad state
+  }
 }
 ```
 
@@ -480,4 +483,4 @@ cmake .. -G Ninja -DCMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS=ON
 - **Static analysis** tools for code quality
 - **Address sanitizer** for memory safety testing
 
-This style guide reflects the existing codebase patterns and should be followed for all new code contributions to maintain consistency and readability.
+This style guide reflects the existing codebase patterns and should be followed for all new code contributions to maintain consistency and readability.