Exception Handling in Java

Dr. Kuppusamy .P
Associate Professor / SCOPE
 Exception
• An exception is an abnormal event occurs during the execution of the program,
that interrupts the normal flow of the program‘s instruction.
• Exceptions are generated when a recognize the condition (usually an error
condition) during the execution of a method.
• Exception can be generated by Java-runtime system or they can be manually
generated by code.
Exception handling
• The ability of a program to intercept run-time errors, take corrective measures and
continue execution to maintain the normal flow of the application.
• An exceptions occur at various situations:
• Attempting to access a file that does not exist
• Inserting an element into an array at a position that is not in its bounds
• Performing some mathematical operation that is not permitted
• Declaring an array using negative values
• Resource allocation Error
• Problems in Network connectivity.
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Exception Hierarchy

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Exception Hierarchy

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 Exceptions
Two types of exceptions:
Compile time exceptions
✓ Compiler time error means Java compiler identify the syntax error at the time of
compilation.
✓ Compiler does not create .class file without successful compilation.
✓ Missing braces
✓ Missing semicolon
✓ Missing double quote in string
✓ = instead of == operator, and etc.
Run time exceptions
• Program may compile successfully several times and compiler creates the class file of the
program.
• But when the time of running the program, it shows the error is called run time error.
The common problems are:
• Divide by zero
• Conversion of invalid string to number
• access the element that is out of bound of an array
• Passing the parameters with invalid range.
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 Checked Exception
• This exception is checked (notified) by the compiler at compilation-time (compile
time exceptions). These exceptions cannot simply be ignored, the programmer
should handle these exceptions.
Ex.
• User writes FileReader class in the program to read data from a file. If the file
doesn't exist, then a FileNotFoundException occurs, and the compiler prompts the
programmer to handle the exception.
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileReader;
public class File_Demo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
File file = new File(“D:\\file.txt");
FileReader fr = new FileReader(file);
} }

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 UnChecked Exception
• This exception occurs at the time of execution called as Runtime Exceptions such
as logic errors or improper use of an API.
• Runtime exceptions are ignored at the time of compilation.
E.g.
• If user declared an array of size 3, and trying to call the 4th element of the array
then an ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsExceptionexception occurs.
public class Uncheck_Demo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
int num[] = {1, 2, 3};
System.out.println(num[4]);
}
}

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 StringIndexoutofbounds Exception Example
public class StringIndex {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String s = "Welcome to the Classroom";
System.out.println("String Length is : "+s.length());
for(int j=0; j<s.length(); j++) {
System.out.print(" "+s.charAt(j));
}
System.out.println("Access the 50th alphabet:"+s.charAt(50));
}
}

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 IllegalArgumentException Example

public class ExIllegalarg {

static int v = 10;
public static int getValue(String s) {
if(s == null) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Arguments can not be null");
}
return v;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
String s = null;
try {
System.out.println(getValue(s));
}catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
System.out.println(" IllegalArgumentException Caught");
}}
}
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 NullPointerException Example 1

public class Main {

public static void main(String[] args) {
Object ref = null;
ref.toString(); // throw a NullPointerException
}
}

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 NullPointerException Example 2

class Sample {
public static Sample set_Value() { //returns a null object
return null;
} public void print(String s) {
System.out.println(s);
}
}
class Main{
public static void main(String[] args) {
Sample x = Sample.set_Value(); //create a new object (null object)
x.print("Hi!"); //invoke method using null object
}
}

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 Errors
✓ Error is not considered as an Exception.
✓ Errors are problems that arise beyond the control of the programmer.
✓ Occurs due to the lack of system resources and our application should not catch these types
of problem.
✓ Errors mostly occur at runtime. So, they belong to an unchecked type.
Ex :
✓ Stack Overflow Error, OutofMemory Error, System Crash Error
✓ It is irrecoverable
✓ Errors are also ignored by the compiler.
public class ErrorExample {
public static void main(String[] args){
recursiveMethod(10);
}
public static void recursiveMethod(int i){
while(i!=0){
i=i+1;
Error:
recursiveMethod(i); java.lang.StackOverflowError
}
} } Dr. Kuppusamy P
 Exception Handling
Different approaches to handle exceptions in Java.
• try...catch block
• finally block
• throw and throws keyword.
try…catch block
• The try statement allows to define a block of code to be tested for errors while it is
being executed.
• The catch statement allows to define a block of code to be executed, if an error
occurs in the try block.
try {
// Block of code to be tested
}
catch(Exception e) {
// Block of code to handle errors
}
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 try .. catch
• If user declared an array of size 3, and trying to call the 4th element of the array
then an ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsExceptionexception occurs.
public class Uncheck_Demo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
int num[] = {1, 2, 3};
System.out.println(num[4]);
}}

public class Uncheck_Demo {

public static void main(String[ ] args) {
try {
int[] num = {1, 2, 3};
System.out.println(num[4]);
} catch (Exception e) {
System.out.println("Something went wrong.");
}
}
} Dr. Kuppusamy P
 try…catch block
public class Main
{
public static void main(String ar[])
{
try
{
int x = 30 / 0;
} catch (ArithmeticException e)
{
System.out.println("Division by zero.");
}
}

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 Multiple catch block
• A single block of code can raise more than one exception.
• So, use two or more catch clauses for catching a different type of exceptions.
• At a time, only one exception occurs and at a time only one catch block is
executed.
• All catch blocks must be ordered from most specific to most general, i.e., catch for
ArithmeticException must come before catch for Exception.
• When using multiple catch statements, it is important to remember that subclasses
exception must come before any of their superclass’s exception.
• Because a catch statement that uses a superclass will catch exceptions of that type
as well as exceptions of its subclasses.
• Thus, a subclass exception would never be reached if it came after its superclass
that manifests as an unreachable code error.
try{
//block of statements
}catch(Exception handler class subclass ){
} catch(Exception handler super class){
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}
Multiple catch block

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 Multiple catch block
public class Main {
public static void main(String ar[])
{
try{
int len=ar.length;
System.out.println(34/len);
System.out.println(ar[5]);
}
catch(ArithmeticException e){
System.out.println(“Division by zero");
}
catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e){
System.out.println("array index error");
}
}} Dr. Kuppusamy P
 catch blocks to be in order from specific to
general catch block
class Arith{
int array[]={5,10,15,20};
int num1 = 100;
int num2 =20;
public void multiCatch(){
try{
//java.lang.ArithmeticException here if num2 = 0.
System.out.println(num1/num2);
System.out.println("4th element of given array = " + array[3]);
//ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException here.
System.out.println("5th element of given array = " + array[4]);
}catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e){
System.out.println(e);
}
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 catch blocks to be in order from specific to general
catch block
catch(ArithmeticException e){ //catch ArithmeticException here.
System.out.println(e);
}catch(Exception e){ //catch general exceptions here.
System.out.println(e);
}
System.out.println("Remaining code after exception handling.");
}
}
public class ExceEx1 {
public static void main(String args[]){
Arith obj = new Arith();
obj.multiCatch();
}
}
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 catch blocks NOT in order from specific to
general catch block
class Arith{
int array[]={5,10,15,20};
int num1 = 100;
int num2 =20;
public void multiCatch(){
try{
//java.lang.ArithmeticException here if num2 = 0.
System.out.println(num1/num2);
System.out.println("4th element of given array = " + array[3]);

//ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException here.
System.out.println("5th element of given array = " + array[4]);
}catch(Exception e){ //catch general exceptions here.
System.out.println(e);
} Dr. Kuppusamy P
 catch blocks NOT in order from specific to general
catch block
catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e){ //Compile time error here.
System.out.println(e);
}catch(ArithmeticException e){ //catch ArithmeticException here.
System.out.println(e);
}
System.out.println("Remaining code after exception handling.");
}
}
public class ExceEx {
public static void main(String args[]){
Arith obj = new Arith();
obj.multiCatch();
}
}
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 Nested try Statements
• The try statement can be nested.
• If an inner try statement does not have a catch handler for a particular exception,
the outer block’s catch handler will handle the exception.
• This continues until one of the catch statement succeeds, or until all the nested try
statements are exhausted .
• If no catch statement matches, then the Java runtime system will handle the
exception.
try{ //block of statements
try{
//block of statements
}catch(Exception handler class){
}
}catch(Exception handler class){
}

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 Nested Try statements
public class NestTry {
public static void main(String args[]){
//outer try block
try{
//inner try block 1
try{
System.out.println(“Divide by 0");
int x =20/0;
}
//catch block of inner try block 1
catch(ArithmeticException e)
{
System.out.println(e);
}
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 Nested Try statements
//inner try block 2
try{
int y[]=new int[10];
//assigning the value out of array bounds
y[25]=40;
} //catch block of inner try block 2
catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e)
{
System.out.println(e);
}
System.out.println("other statement");
}

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 Nested Try statements
//catch block of outer try block
catch(Exception e)
{
System.out.println("handled the exception (outer catch)");
}
System.out.println("normal flow..");
}
}

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 Finally clause in java
• The finally block follows a try block or a catch block.
• A finally block of code always executes, irrespective of occurrence of an
Exception.
• A try block can have one or more catch block associated with it, but only one
finally block can be associates with it.
Why finally is needed?
• The finally keyword is used to execute code without consideration of the
occurrence of an exception or not.
• Eg: freeing the resources i.e., closing the file, database connectivity, etc.,
try{

//block of statements

} catch(){

}finally{

}
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 Finally clause in java
public class ExcepTest {
public static void main(String args[]) {
int x[] = new int[2];
try {
System.out.println("Access element five :" + x[5]);
} catch (ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e) {
System.out.println("Exception thrown :" + e);
}finally {
x[0] = 15;
System.out.println("First element value: " + x[0]);
System.out.println("The finally statement is executed");
}
}
}

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 References

• Herbert Schildt, “Java: The Complete Reference”, McGraw-Hill Education, Tenth

edition, 2017.
• Joyce Farrell, “Java Programming”, Cengage Learning, Eighth Edition, 2016.
• Mark Lassoff, “Java Programming for Beginners”, Pack Publishing, 2017

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