Robust Programming

Robust programming, also called bomb-proof programming, is a style of programming that prevents abnormal termination or unexpected actions. Basically, it requires code to handle bad (invalid or absurd) inputs in a reasonable way. If an internal error occurs, the program or library terminates gracefully, and provides enough information so the programmer can debug the program or routine.

http://nob.cs.ucdavis.edu/bishop/secprog/robust.html