There is no error message here - more often than not it's a straight up crash. No HRESULT, no popup, just NullPointerException, straight to jail.
In many cases like this, crashes like this are in app startup, so it's not like you learn not to hit a certain button - it's just that the app doesn't work, an awful UX.
As called out in the article, there are (and always should be) APIs like "IsPrintingEnabled" so that forward-thinking apps can show better UX. These practices aren't for those apps, they're for everyone else.
Also, if your app preserves state well enough that a keep-alive daemon can restore after a crash and the user doesn't notice, that is ABSOLUTELY an improvement in UX over just crashing. Sure, you should still fix the bugs, but don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
In many cases like this, crashes like this are in app startup, so it's not like you learn not to hit a certain button - it's just that the app doesn't work, an awful UX.
As called out in the article, there are (and always should be) APIs like "IsPrintingEnabled" so that forward-thinking apps can show better UX. These practices aren't for those apps, they're for everyone else.
Also, if your app preserves state well enough that a keep-alive daemon can restore after a crash and the user doesn't notice, that is ABSOLUTELY an improvement in UX over just crashing. Sure, you should still fix the bugs, but don't let perfect be the enemy of good.