$ perldoc -f sqrt
sqrt EXPR
sqrt Return the square root of EXPR. If EXPR is
omitted, returns square root of "$_". Only works
on non-negative operands, unless you've loaded the
standard Math::Complex module.
use Math::Complex;
print sqrt(-2); # prints 1.4142135623731i
UPDATE:
But i didn't really answer the question, "why can't you
'catch' this exception" ... is it possible? Why yes it
is! Fletch++!
jeffa
L-LL-L--L-LL-L--L-LL-L--
-R--R-RR-R--R-RR-R--R-RR
B--B--B--B--B--B--B--B--
H---H---H---H---H---H---
(the triplet paradiddle with high-hat)