Exception Handling
Errors
Errors are wrong that can make the program wrong.
Types of Error:
1) Compile time error
2) Run-time Error
Compile Time Error:
All the syntax error will be detected and displayed by the Java complier and therefore these
errors are called compile time errors
Eg: Syntax error
Example of Compile Time error
Missing semicolon
Missing brackets
Missing double quotes
use of undeclared variables
Runtime Errors
Sometime the program may compile successfully creating the .class file but may not run
properly. Due to wrong logic or may terminate .
Example
Dividing by zero
Accessing the elements that is out of bounds of an arrary
To store a value into array of incompatible types
Accessing a character that is out of bounds of a string.
Exception
Exception is caused by a runtime error in the program. When Java interpreter encounters an error
such as dividing by zero, it creates an exception object and throws it.
If the exception object is not caught and handled properly the interpreter will display the error
message and terminates the program.
The exception handling in java is one of the powerful mechanism to handle the runtime
errors so that normal flow of the application can be maintained.
Exception is an abnormal condition.
In java, exception is an event that disrupts the normal flow of the program. It is an object which
is thrown at runtime.
Exception Handling is a mechanism to handle runtime errors such as ClassNotFound, IO, SQL,
Remote etc.
Advantage of Exception Handling
The core advantage of exception handling is to maintain the normal flow of the application.
Exception normally disrupts the normal flow of the application that is why we use exception
handling.
Types of Exception
There are mainly two types of exceptions: checked and unchecked where error is considered as
unchecked exception. The sun microsystem says there are three types of exceptions:
1. Checked Exception
2. Unchecked Exception
3. Error
1) Checked Exception
The classes that extend Throwable class except RuntimeException and Error are known as
checked exceptions e.g.IOException, SQLException etc. Checked exceptions are checked at
compile-time.
2) Unchecked Exception
The classes that extend RuntimeException are known as unchecked exceptions e.g.
ArithmeticException, NullPointerException, ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException etc. Unchecked
exceptions are not checked at compile-time rather they are checked at runtime.
3) Error
Error is irrecoverable e.g. OutOfMemoryError, VirtualMachineError, AssertionError etc.
Java defines several other types of exceptions that relate to its various class libraries. Following
is the list of Java Unchecked RuntimeException.
Sr.No. Exception & Description
ArithmeticException
1
Arithmetic error, such as divide-by-zero.
ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException
2
Array index is out-of-bounds.
ArrayStoreException
3
Assignment to an array element of an incompatible type.
ClassCastException
4
Invalid cast.
IllegalArgumentException
5
Illegal argument used to invoke a method.
IllegalMonitorStateException
6
Illegal monitor operation, such as waiting on an unlocked thread.
IllegalStateException
7
Environment or application is in incorrect state.
IllegalThreadStateException
8
Requested operation not compatible with the current thread state.
IndexOutOfBoundsException
9
Some type of index is out-of-bounds.
NegativeArraySizeException
10
Array created with a negative size.
NullPointerException
11
Invalid use of a null reference.
NumberFormatException
12
Invalid conversion of a string to a numeric format.
SecurityException
13
Attempt to violate security.
StringIndexOutOfBounds
14
Attempt to index outside the bounds of a string.
UnsupportedOperationException
15
An unsupported operation was encountered.
Following is the list of Java Checked Exceptions Defined in java.lang.
Sr.No. Exception & Description
ClassNotFoundException
1
Class not found.
CloneNotSupportedException
2
Attempt to clone an object that does not implement the Cloneable interface.
IllegalAccessException
3
Access to a class is denied.
InstantiationException
4
Attempt to create an object of an abstract class or interface.
InterruptedException
5
One thread has been interrupted by another thread.
NoSuchFieldException
6
A requested field does not exist.
NoSuchMethodException
7
A requested method does not exist.
Common scenarios where exceptions may occur
There are given some scenarios where unchecked exceptions can occur. They are as follows:
1) Scenario where ArithmeticException occurs
If we divide any number by zero, there occurs an ArithmeticException.
1. int a=50/0;//ArithmeticException
2) Scenario where NullPointerException occurs
If we have null value in any variable, performing any operation by the variable occurs
anNullPointerException.
1. String s=null;
2. System.out.println(s.length());//NullPointerException
3) Scenario where NumberFormatException occurs
The wrong formatting of any value, may occur NumberFormatException. Suppose I have a
string variable that have characters, converting this variable into digit will occur
NumberFormatException.
1. String s="abc";
2. int i=Integer.parseInt(s);//NumberFormatException
4) Scenario where ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException occurs
If you are inserting any value in the wrong index, it would result
ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException as shown below:
1. int a[]=new int[5];
2. a[10]=50; //ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException
Java Exception Handling Keywords
There are 5 keywords used in java exception handling.
1. try
2. catch
3. finally
4. throw
5. throws
Java try block
Java try block is used to enclose the code that might throw an exception. It must be used within
the method.
Java try block must be followed by either catch or finally block.
Syntax of java try-catch
try{
//code that may throw exception
}catch(Exception_class_Name ref){}
Syntax of try-finally block
try{
//code that may throw exception
}finally{}
Java catch block
Java catch block is used to handle the Exception. It must be used after the try block only.
You can use multiple catch block with a single try.
Problem without exception handling
Let's try to understand the problem if we don't use try-catch block.
public class Testtrycatch1{
public static void main(String args[]){
int data=50/0;//may throw exception
System.out.println("rest of the code...");
}
}
Output:
Exception in thread main java.lang.ArithmeticException:/ by zero
Solution by exception handling
Let's see the solution of above problem by java try-catch block.
public class Testtrycatch2{
public static void main(String args[]){
try{
int data=50/0;
}catch(ArithmeticException e){System.out.println(e);}
System.out.println("rest of the code...");
}
}
Output:
Exception in thread main java.lang.ArithmeticException:/ by zero
rest of the code...
Java Multi catch block
public class TestMultipleCatchBlock{
public static void main(String args[]){
try{
int a[]=new int[5];
a[5]=30/0;
}
catch(ArithmeticException e){System.out.println("task1 is completed");}
catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e){System.out.println("task 2 completed");}
catch(Exception e){System.out.println("common task completed");}
System.out.println("rest of the code...");
}
}
Output:task1 completed
rest of the code...
Rule: At a time only one Exception is occured and at a time only one catch block is executed.
Rule: All catch blocks must be ordered from most specific to most general i.e. catch for
ArithmeticException must come before catch for Exception .
Most Specific to general Exception
class TestMultipleCatchBlock1{
public static void main(String args[]){
try{
int a[]=new int[5];
a[5]=30/0;
}
catch(Exception e){System.out.println("common task completed");}
catch(ArithmeticException e){System.out.println("task1 is completed");}
catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e){System.out.println("task 2 completed");}
System.out.println("rest of the code...");
}
}
Output:
Compile-time error
Java Nested try block
The try block within a try block is known as nested try block in java.
Why use nested try block
Sometimes a situation may arise where a part of a block may cause one error and the entire block
itself may cause another error. In such cases, exception handlers have to be nested.
Syntax:
....
try
{
statement 1;
statement 2;
try
{
statement 1;
statement 2;
}
catch(Exception e)
{
}
}
catch(Exception e)
{
}
....
Java nested try example
Let's see a simple example of java nested try block.
class Excep6{
public static void main(String args[]){
try{
try{
System.out.println("going to divide");
int b =39/0;
}catch(ArithmeticException e){System.out.println(e);}
try{
int a[]=new int[5];
a[5]=4;
}catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e){System.out.println(e);}
System.out.println("other statement);
}catch(Exception e){System.out.println("handeled");}
System.out.println("normal flow..");
}
}
Java finally block
Java finally block is a block that is used to execute important code such as closing connection,
stream etc.
Java finally block is always executed whether exception is handled or not.
Java finally block follows try or catch block.
Usage of Java finally
Let's see the different cases where java finally block can be used.
Case 1
Let's see the java finally example where exception doesn't occur.
class TestFinallyBlock{
public static void main(String args[]){
try{
int data=25/5;
System.out.println(data);
}
catch(NullPointerException e){System.out.println(e);}
finally{System.out.println("finally block is always executed");}
System.out.println("rest of the code...");
}
}
Output:5
finally block is always executed
rest of the code...
Case 2
Let's see the java finally example where exception occurs and not handled.
class TestFinallyBlock1
{
public static void main(String args[])
{
try{
int data=25/0;
System.out.println(data);
}
catch(NullPointerException e){System.out.println(e);}
finally{System.out.println("finally block is always executed");}
System.out.println("rest of the code...");
}
}
Output:finally block is always executed
Exception in thread main java.lang.ArithmeticException:/ by zero
Let's see the java finally example where exception occurs and handled.
public class TestFinallyBlock2{
public static void main(String args[]){
try{
int data=25/0;
System.out.println(data);
}
catch(ArithmeticException e){System.out.println(e);}
finally{System.out.println("finally block is always executed");}
System.out.println("rest of the code...");
}
}
Output:Exception in thread main java.lang.ArithmeticException:/ by zero
finally block is always executed
rest of the code...
Java throw keyword
The Java throw keyword is used to explicitly throw an exception.
We can throw either checked or unchekedexception in java by throw keyword. The throw
keyword is mainly used to throw custom exception. We will see custom exceptions later.
The syntax of java throw keyword is given below.
1. throw exception;
Let's see the example of throw IOException.
1. throw new IOException("sorry device error);
java throw keyword example
In this example, we have created the validate method that takes integer value as a parameter. If
the age is less than 18, we are throwing the ArithmeticException otherwise print a message
welcome to vote.
public class TestThrow1{
static void validate(int age){
if(age<18)
throw new ArithmeticException("not valid");
else
System.out.println("welcome to vote");
}
public static void main(String args[]){
validate(13);
System.out.println("rest of the code...");
}
}
Output:
Exception in thread main java.lang.ArithmeticException:not valid
Program altered to handle the exception
public class TestThrow1
{
static void validate(int age){
try{
if(age<18)
throw new ArithmeticException("not valid");
else
System.out.println("welcome to vote");
}
catch(ArithmeticException e)
{
System.out.println("Except handled"+e);
}
}
public static void main(String args[]){
validate(13);
System.out.println("rest of the code...");
}
}
OUTPUT:
D:\JavaPrograms>javac TestThrow1.java
D:\JavaPrograms>java TestThrow1
Except handledjava.lang.ArithmeticException: not valid
rest of the code...
Java throws keyword
The Java throws keyword is used to declare an exception. It gives an information to the
programmer that there may occur an exception so it is better for the programmer to provide the
exception handling code so that normal flow can be maintained.
Exception Handling is mainly used to handle the checked exceptions. If there occurs any
unchecked exception such as NullPointerException, it is programmers fault that he is not
performing check up before the code being used.
Syntax of java throws
return_type method_name() throws exception_class_name{
//method code
}
Example:
classExamplethrows
{
static void dividem() throws ArithmeticException
{
int x=22,y=0,z;
z=x/y;
}
public static void main(String args[])
{
try
{
dividem();
}
catch(ArithmeticException e)
{
System.out.println(“Caught the exception”+e);
}
}
}
(or)
import java.io.*;
class M{
void method()throws IOException{
throw new IOException("device error");
}
}
public class Testthrows2{
public static void main(String args[]){
try{
M m=new M();
m.method();
}catch(Exception e){System.out.println("exception handled");}
System.out.println("normal flow...");
}
}
Test it Now
Output:exception handled
normal flow...
import java.io.*;
public class Testdemo{
static void demoproc()
{
try
{
throw new NullPointerException("demo");
}
catch(NullPointerException e)
{
System.out.println("Caught.."+e);
throw e;
}
}
public static void main(String args[])
{
try{
demoproc();
}
catch(NullPointerException e)
{
System.out.println("exception handled"+e);
}
//System.out.println("normal flow...");
}
}
Usage of throws Keyword:
The Java throws keyword is used to declare an exception. It gives an information to the
programmer that there may occur an exception so it is better for the programmer to
provide the exception handling code so that normal flow can be maintained.
Exception Handling is mainly used to handle the checked exceptions. If there occurs any
unchecked exception such as NullPointerException, it is programmers fault that he is not
performing check up before the code being used.
Syntax of java throws
return_type method_name() throws exception_class_name{
//method code
}
File Name: Examplethrows.java
classExamplethrows
{
static void dividem() throws ArithmeticException
{
int x=22,y=0,z;
z=x/y;
}
public static void main(String args[])
{
try
{
dividem();
}
catch(ArithmeticException e)
{
System.out.println("Caught the exception"+e);
}
}
}
Difference between throw and throws in Java
No. throw throws
1) Java throw keyword is used to Java throws keyword is used to declare an
explicitly throw an exception. exception.
2) Checked exception cannot be Checked exception can be propagated with throws.
propagated using throw only.
3) Throw is followed by an Throws is followed by class.
instance.
4) Throw is used within the Throws is used with the method signature.
method.
5) You cannot throw multiple You can declare multiple exceptions e.g.
exceptions. public void method()throws
IOException,SQLException.
Program using throws and throw
import java.io.IOException;
class Testthrows1{
void m()throws IOException{
throw new IOException("device error");//checked exception
}
void n()throws IOException{
m();
}
void p(){
try{
n();
}catch(Exception e){System.out.println("exception handled");}
}
public static void main(String args[]){
Testthrows1 obj=new Testthrows1();
obj.p();
System.out.println("normal flow...");
}
}
Output:
exception handled
normal flow...
Difference between final, finally and finalize:
No. final finally finalize
1) Final is used to apply restrictions Finally is used to place Finalize is used to
on class, method and variable. important code, it will be perform clean up
Final class can't be inherited, executed whether processing just before
final method can't be overridden exception is handled or object is garbage
and final variable value can't be not. collected.
changed.
2) Final is a keyword. Finally is a block. Finalize is a method.
Example for final
class FinalExample{
public static void main(String[] args){
final int x=100;
x=200;//Compile Time Error
}}
Example for finally
class FinallyExample{
public static void main(String[] args){
try{
int x=300;
}catch(Exception e){System.out.println(e);}
finally{System.out.println("finally block is executed");}
}}
Example for Finalize
class FinalizeExample{
public void finalize(){System.out.println("finalize called");}
public static void main(String[] args){
FinalizeExample f1=new FinalizeExample();
FinalizeExample f2=new FinalizeExample();
f1=null;
f2=null;
System.gc();
}}
