Exception Handling in C++

By: Rajesh P.S.

Exception handling in C++ is a mechanism used to handle and manage errors or exceptional conditions that may occur during program execution. It allows you to handle errors, prevent program crashes, and provide a structured way to recover from unexpected situations. The core elements of exception handling in C++ include the try, catch, and throw blocks.

Why Exception Handling in C++?

Exception handling in C++ is essential because it allows programs to manage and recover from unexpected errors or exceptional conditions. Instead of crashing the program, exceptions enable developers to handle errors in a structured manner, making the code more robust and maintainable.

Exception handling promotes clean separation between normal program flow and error-handling code, making it easier to diagnose and fix issues while also providing informative error messages. This results in more reliable and user-friendly software, especially in complex applications where errors are inevitable.

There are three main keywords used in exception handling:

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try: This keyword marks the beginning of a block of code that may throw an exception.
catch: This keyword marks the beginning of a block of code that will be executed if an exception is thrown.
throw: This keyword is used to throw an exception.

When an exception is thrown, the program will search for a catch block that matches the type of exception. If a matching catch block is found, the code in that block will be executed. Otherwise, the program will terminate.

Here's an explanation of each element with an example:

try block

This block contains the code where you anticipate an exception might occur. You enclose the potentially problematic code within a try block.

try { // Code that might throw an exception } catch (ExceptionType1 e1) { // Handle ExceptionType1 } catch (ExceptionType2 e2) { // Handle ExceptionType2 }

throw statement

When an error or exceptional situation is encountered in the try block, you can explicitly throw an exception using the throw statement.

if (some_condition) { throw ExceptionType1("An error occurred."); }

catch block

These blocks are used to catch and handle exceptions. They come after the try block and can handle specific types of exceptions. If an exception is thrown within the try block, the corresponding catch block is executed.

try { // Code that might throw an exception } catch (ExceptionType1 e1) { // Handle ExceptionType1 } catch (ExceptionType2 e2) { // Handle ExceptionType2 }

Full Source

#include <iostream> #include <string> int main() { try { int numerator = 10; int denominator = 0; if (denominator == 0) { throw std::runtime_error("Division by zero is not allowed."); } int result = numerator / denominator; std::cout << "Result: " << result << std::endl; } catch (const std::exception& e) { std::cerr << "Exception caught: " << e.what() << std::endl; } return 0; }

In this example, we attempt to divide by zero, which would cause an exception. We use the try block to enclose this operation and the throw statement to raise a std::runtime_error exception. The catch block then catches the exception, and we handle it by displaying an error message.

Example: File not found exception

The following code shows how to use exception handling to handle a file not found exception:

#include <iostream> #include <fstream> using namespace std; int main() { ifstream file("myfile.txt"); if (!file.is_open()) { throw exception("File not found."); } // Read the contents of the file. return 0; }

If the file myfile.txt does not exist, the ifstream constructor will throw an exception. The throw keyword is used to rethrow the exception.

The following code shows how to catch the file not found exception:

#include <iostream> #include <fstream> using namespace std; int main() { try { ifstream file("myfile.txt"); if (!file.is_open()) { throw exception("File not found."); } // Read the contents of the file. } catch (exception& e) { cout << e.what() << endl; } return 0; }

If the file myfile.txt does not exist, the catch block will be executed. The e.what() function returns the message of the exception.

Multiple catch Statements in C++

You can use multiple catch statements to handle different types of exceptions in a structured and specific way. Each catch block is associated with a particular exception type, allowing you to handle exceptions of various types differently. Here's an example of how to use multiple catch statements:

#include <iostream> #include <stdexcept> int main() { try { // Code that might throw an exception throw std::runtime_error("An error occurred."); } catch (const std::runtime_error& e) { // Handle runtime_error exceptions std::cerr << "Caught runtime_error: " << e.what() << std::endl; } catch (const std::logic_error& e) { // Handle logic_error exceptions std::cerr << "Caught logic_error: " << e.what() << std::endl; } catch (const std::exception& e) { // Handle other std::exception-derived exceptions std::cerr << "Caught std::exception: " << e.what() << std::endl; } catch (...) { // Handle all other exceptions std::cerr << "Unknown exception caught." << std::endl; } return 0; }

In this example, we have multiple catch blocks, each associated with a specific exception type:

The first catch block catches exceptions of type std::runtime_error.
The second catch block catches exceptions of type std::logic_error.
The third catch block catches any other exceptions derived from std::exception.
The last catch block with ... handles all other types of exceptions that are not explicitly caught elsewhere.

When an exception is thrown in the try block, the appropriate catch block is executed based on the type of the exception. This allows you to handle different types of exceptions in distinct ways, providing specific error-handling behavior for each type of exception.

Catching All Types of Exceptions in C++

You can catch all types of exceptions using a catch block that catches a generic exception, such as std:Exception or ... [ellipsis]. And the best part is that it allows you to take a certain action without the type of the exception being involved. Here's how you can catch all types of exceptions:

#include <iostream> #include <exception> int main() { try { // Code that might throw an exception throw std::runtime_error("An error occurred."); } catch (const std::exception& e) { // Handle any exception derived from std::exception std::cerr << "Exception caught: " << e.what() << std::endl; } catch (...) { // Handle all other exceptions std::cerr << "Unknown exception caught." << std::endl; } return 0; }

In the code above, the try block may throw an exception, and we catch it using a catch block with std::exception. This block handles any exception derived from the std::exception class hierarchy. Additionally, we have a catch block with ... (ellipsis) to handle any other exceptions that are not explicitly caught elsewhere.

Conclusion

Exception handling in C++ is a mechanism that allows programmers to manage and recover from unexpected errors or exceptional conditions in a structured way. It involves using try, catch, and throw blocks to elegantly handle errors, prevent program crashes, and provide informative error messages, promoting code robustness and reliability. Exception handling ensures that programs can maintain stability and respond to exceptional situations during execution without abruptly terminating.

Next > C++ if...else statement

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